THE LIBRARY

OF

THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA

LOS ANGELES

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A DERBYSHIRE AUTHOR.

The death is announced of Dr. John Charles Cox.
I/T/.D.. F.S.A., which took place in a nursing: home
rt ^yden.nam on Sunday, in hi« 76th year. He was
Df>rbyshin\ and was educated at
and Queen ? CV.IIeep. Oxford. He was at
one time re^or of Burtan-I»-Sireet ;vnd Hoklenby.
but Tb", Tii"'-,' inform •> -)s ilia.t. in 3917 ho wa*
•1 into the Church of Rome. In his eqrly
days he waj a politifiau with very advanced view?,
associating himself with the late Mr. Joseph Arch
in his campaign for the betterment of the agricul-
tural labourer, and even standing as Parliamentary
candidate for Dewsbury. All his life ho had been
keenly interested in archa?olofry, and wa* a valued
member of many societies. He waa the author,
among-t other historical works, of the " Historv
of the drarcbefl of Derby shire," which he dedi-
' Gladstone. Another of his books
59 fl lasting: \~a.\n* is his "Three
rbvshiro Vnnols," and whid> he
undertook a-t the instigation of Quarter Sessions,
v.'.io desire! • rrrords arrnn^ring in some

and giving to the public.

NOTES ON THE

CHURCHES OF DERBYSHIRE

NOTES

ON THE

<£§ipr§FS of

PV

J. CHARLES COX.

Member of ihf British Arclucological Association, F.R.H.S., ttc.

VOL. I .
THE HUNDRED OF SCARSDALE.

WITH THIRTEEN HELIOTYPE PLATES AND NUMEROUS OTHER ILLUSTKA TIO.Nb.

''TIME CONSKCKATliS J "
AND WHAT IS GKAV WITH AGE BECOMES RELIGION."

Schiiltr.

CHESTERFIELD :
PALMER AND EDMUNDS,

LONDON : BEMROSE AND SONS, 10, PATERNOSTER
BUILDINGS; AND DERBY.

MUCCCLXXV.

IDA

v. I

THESE PAGES ARE DEDICATED
TO

THE REV. J. H. JENKINS, B.A.,

VICAR OF HAZELWOOD,
AS A SMALL EXPRESSION OF THE HIGH ESTEEM

AND AFFECTION
WITH WHICH HE IS REGARDED BY

THE AUTHOR.

7O4781

INTRODUCTION.

|S these preliminary paragraphs are essential to the right
understanding of the scope and purport of the following
pages, and as they also contain information which is
common to every church in the Hundred of Scarsdale, it is to he
hoped that they will not be treated in the perfunctory fashion
which is too often the fate of prefaces and introductions.

\Vhen I first commenced to write the " Notes on the Churches
of Derbyshire" for the columns of the Derbyshire Time*, I had
not the slightest idea of their reproduction. But after a con-
siderable number had appeared, it was suggested to me from
several quarters that it might be well if they were reprinted in a
compendious form. The proprietors of the Derbyshire, Times
cordially concurred in this suggestion, and the result was that I
undertook to re- write and extend the articles, commencing with
those relating to the Eastern Division of the County.

This necessitated a far more careful treatment of the subject
than had been originally bestowed, and my endeavours to exhaust
all reliable sources of information, and to substantiate every
statement, have involved a much greater expenditure of time and
trouble than was anticipated. This must be my excuse for the
delay which has occurred in the production of this volume, an
excuse which will not be available for the conclusion of the work,
a-; the ground that has been already traversed has given me
opportunities ot collecting no little material relative to every
church in the county.

Although articles on all the churches described in this volume,

O

: 'with the exception of one or two of the less important chapelries,)
appeared in the Derbyshire Times, it will be found that very
nearly two-thirds of the pages are entirely new or completely re-
written.

viii DKKBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

It has been my aim to gather together, in a condensed and
available form, all that relates to the early history of the ancient
churches and chapelries of the county, excluding as rigidly as
possible that which had no immediate bearing on the subject.
1 1 was found necessary in many cases, not only for the elucidation
of arms and monuments, but also in connection with the history
of the advowsons. to pay some little attention to the manorial
records of the different parishes. In these cases, although the
published volumes of Pilkington and Davies, of Irysons and
Glover (together with numerous other works incidental to the
history of the county) were always consulted, yet no statement
has been accepted simply on their authority, but the basis of
their assertions has been sought out, to be verified or corrected,
and numerous fresh particulars have been brought to light which
had escaped their observation. For this purpose the very ex-
tensive series of publications, issued by the Record Commission,
commencing in the year 1800, has been thoroughly searched.
These cumbersome publications, especially the earlier ones, are
usually only to be found in public libraries, but, whilst writing
these pages, I was fortunate enough to be able to secure a nearly
complete series, that had belonged to the late Master of the Rolls
(Lord Romilly), which are the more valuable from occasional
corrections made, I believe, by his lordship's hand. I have thus
been enabled to make a much freer and more complete use of
these returns than would otherwise have been possible.

The transcripts and abstracts of the Close, Patent, Fine. Pipe,
Charter, Quo Warranto, and Hundred Rolls, as well as the Testa
de Nevill, have been diligently examined ; but information has
been more specially obtained from the two series of Inquisitions,
in connection with which a brief explanation will not be out of
place. The Inquisitiones j)ost Mortem, or (as they are sometimes
banned] Escheats, commencing in the early part of the reign of
Henry III., were taken by virtue of writs directed to the Escheator
of the district, to summon a jury, who were to inquire on oath
what lands any person died seized of, by what rents or services
the sain.; wro held, who was the next heir, and of what age ; also
wlirtli.'i- ill.- truant was attainted of treason, or an ali.>n,in which
case th«- lands passed into the king's hands. The 7/>y/ /*;//„,/,. v
ad Quod Damnum, commencing in the first year of Edward 11.,

INTRODUCTION. IX

•were taken by virtue of writs directed to the Escheator of the
district, when any grant of a market, fair, or other privilege, or
when any license of alienation of lands was solicited, to inquire
of a jury whether such, grant or alienation would be prejudicial
to the king or others. By a singular blunder, a large number of
the latter class of Inquisitions were included by the Record
Commissioners in the former series ; but this error is not corrected
in these pages, as the documents are arranged at the Public
Record Office in accordance with the classification of the Com-
missioners, and a correction of the title would confuse anyone
desirous of consulting the originals. In a considerable number of
instances, in fact in all where there could be the least doubt as to
the full meaning or accuracy of the transcript or abstract, the
original documents have been consulted ; and the reason why-
I have been careful to give the references in detail in the foot
notes, has not been to make any display of research, but in
order that any one, interested in a particular parish, might be
able with ease to consult the special Inquisition or other docu-
ment, or to obtain a full official copy from the Public Record
Office. The nature of these Inquisitions, and the information
likely to be found in them, may be gathered from the instances
quoted in extevso in the Appendix.

Brief mention must also be made of another class of documents
bearing immediately on the history of the benefices, the chief
of them being the Taxation Roll of Pope Nicholas IV., the Valor
Ecclesiasticus of Henry VIII., the various documents relative to
the Chantries and Church Goods of the date of the Reforma-
tion, and the Parliamentary Survey of 1650.

Pope Nicholas IV. (to whose predecessors in the See of Rome
the first-fruits and tenths of all ecclesiastical benefices had for
a long time been paid), granted the tenths, in 1288, to Edward
I. for six years, towards defraying the expenses of a Crusade;
and, that they might be collected to their full value, the King
caused a valuation roll to be drawn up, which was completed (so
far as the province of Canterbury was concerned) in l'2[)l, under
the direction of John, Bishop of Winchester, and Oliver, Bishop
of Lincoln. There are two copies of this Taxation Roll at the
Public Record Office, both of which appear to have been written
in the reigu of Henry VI., and there is a third of much greater

X DKK'MYSIIIHK CHURCHES.

antiquity amongst the Cottonian MSS. of the British Museum.
These three copies were collated, and printed in 1802, with the
various readings, by the Record Commission. At the dispersion
of the Savile MSS.. another Taxation Koll of the benetices, taken
in 12D2 — :>, was sold, and appears to have passed into private
hands. I have not been able to trace it, but it was stated at the
time of the sale that the value of the benefices was about one-
third more than that given in 1291. The part relating to the
Hundred of Scarsdale, will be found in the copy amongst the
Cottonian MSS., under Tiberius C.X., folio 259b., and on page
21ii of the Record Commissioners' publication. I prefer to
give the reference here, once for all, so as to save all needless
repetitions in the foot notes ; and the same remark is appli-
. cable to the other documents now under consideration.

The Taxation of Pope Nicholas held good, and all the
from the benefices, as well to our Kings as to the Popes,
were regulated by it until the twenty-seventh year of Henry
VIII., when a new survey was completed. This took place
on the eve of the Reformation, when the first-fruits and tenths
ceased to be forwarded to Rome, and were transferred to the
public exchequer of the nation. This transference held good,
except for a short period during the reign of Philip and
Mary ; in 1703 the receipts were appropriated, under the
title of Queen Anne's Bounty, to the augmentation of the
smaller livings. The original returns used to lie at the old
First Fruits Office, but are now with the rest of the Public
Records in Fetter Lane. These returns were published in
detail by the Record Commission, in six large folio volumes.
They contain so many interesting particulars that no excuse
is necessary for having quoted them in full. The entries will
be found in the text itself, under the different churches; with
the exception of those preceding Chesterfield, which are given
in the Appendix, It should be recollected by those consulting
the Valor E/cdesiasticuB, that in the case of a vicarage, further
details relative to the rectory will probably be found under
the particular monastery to which the greater tithes had been
appropriated.

The following is the introductory paragraph from the Valor

INTRODUCTION. XI

relative to the Deanery of Chesterfield, with the names of the
Commissioners for that district : —

"DECANATUS DE CHESTREFELDE.

" Coventre et Lichfelcl Dioc' in Com' Derbie of in Arrhidiacoiiatu Derbie predicto.

Veri Ainnii distmcti pleui ac clari Valores omnium Monestorionim I>i,<,niitatiim
Rpctoriaruin Yicariarum Cantarianini ac alianuu promotionum Spirituiilium ibidem,
una cum earum deductioiiibus per Statutnin inde editum et provisum allocatis. ut
plenius patet per billas sive scripta incumbentium per sacramentum eorunidem
eoram uobis Godfrido Foliambe Milite, Francisco Cokayn, Johanne Leeke, et
Edwardo Eyre, armigeris, ac domini Reu'i* ibidem Commissioiiariis exhibits apud
Brampton vicesimo die mensis Mail anno reprni domini Regis Henrici Octavi Fidei
Defensoris Domini Hibernie et in terra Supremi Capitis Anglicane Ecclesic vicesimo
eeptimo."

The Deanery of Chesterfield corresponds almost exactly in
area with the Hundred of Scarsdale ; in fact it was termed in
1291, "Decanatus Scarvesclale." The only extracts given in these
pages from the Valor, which are not taken from the Deanery
of Chesterfield, are those relating to the Chapelries of Dethk-k
and Lea, which are there entered under the Deanery of Ash-
bourne.

About ten years after the completion of this last Survey,
Henry VIII. decided on appropriating the revenues belonging
to Colleges' and Chantries. As a preliminary measure to their
sale, he appointed a Commission, in the 37th year of his
reign, to re-value this property, and to take an inventory of the
chattels. The particular heads under which the Commissioners
had to classify their returns, are specified in the Appendix to the
Chapelry of Dethick. The whole subject of the suppression of
the Chantries, as conceived in the reign of Henry VIII. and
finally carried out in the reign of Edward VI., is most ably and
exnaustively dealt with, in the introduction to the volumes of
the Cheetham Society which treat of the Lancashire Chantries.
The reports, or " Certificates," furnished by Henry VIII.'s Com-
mission with respect to the different chantries, are preserved at
the Public Record Office, and consist of rolls of parchment with
the answers arranged in eight parallel columns. Roll No. 13
includes the counties of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire ;
that portion relating to Derbyshire occupies seven large skins
written on both sides. The initial clause of this roll, giving the
names of the Commissioners for these Counties, is as follows : —
"The Certificate off Sir John Markeham, Knighte, William Cow-
per, Nicholas Powtrell Esquyers, and John Wyseman, Gentil-

Xll DERBYSHIRE CHURCH KS.

man, Comyssioners of our Souvereygn Lorde the Kynge in the
Counties beforesaid of and for the survey of all Chauntries,
Hospitalles, Collegies, Free Chapelles, Fraternities, Brotherheds,
Guyldes, and salaries of stipendarie prists within the said
Counties accordyng to Certeyn Articles herunder written by
the vertue of the Kings Maiesties Comyssion to them directed,
ilut.'d the xiiij day of the monythe of Februarye in the xxxvij
yere of the Reygn of our said moste dradde souvereygn Lord
Henrye the viij of the grace of God of Ynglonde Fraunce and
Yrelonde Kinge Defender of the faithe and in erthe under God
of the Church of Englonde and Irelonde the Supreme hede, As
hereafter more playnelye apperitlie."

There is also a second " Roll," or rather paper book, No. 14,
which is merely an abstract of the previous one. It contains,
however, most of the important points of the original, and is the
one from which the Rev. Mackenzie Walcott supplied a list of
the Derbyshire Chantries to the Reliquai-y (Xo. 41, October,
1870). I have, for the sake of brevity, made use for the
most part of the condensed roll, but have not unfrequently
quoted from the fuller record, both in the text and the notes, and
have also given more than one transcript at length from Roll No.
13 in the Appendix, so that an idea may be formed as to the
amount of information they respectively contain. There are also
manuscript volumes containing " Particulars for the sale of Col-
ledges and Chantries," from which an additional item may
occasionally be gleaned, and the same Office contains the In-
ventories of Church Goods taken in the reign of Edward VI ; but
nothing more need here be said of the Inventories, as none of
those relating to the churches of East Derbyshire appear to have
been preserved.

The Library of Lambeth Palace contains a most interesting

O

series of ecclesiastical documents of the time of the Common-
wealth. In pursuance of various Ordinances of the Parliament,
a conij>li-t<> survey of the possessions of Bishops, of Deans and
riiaptrrs, and of all benefices, was made in 1650 by spr.-ially
ap|..iinted Commissioners. The original surveys were rran>-
mitted to the Trustees nominated for the management of this
property, who held their meetings at, a lio is,- in Broad Street,
in the City, where these documents remained until after the

INTRODUCTION. Xlll

Restoration. On the 13th May, 1662, these Surveys were handed
over to the Archbishop of Canterbury, " who is desired to take
care for the preservation thereof, and to dispose of the same to the
respective bishops, Deans, and Chapters, who are therein con-
cerned, if he shall think fit," Some of the returns, in accordance
with this order, were dispatched to the Sees of which they
respectively treated, but the great bulk of them have remained
at Lambeth Palace to the present day, where they are bound up
in twenty-one large folio volumes, numbered in the catalogue of
MSS. from 902 to 922. The whole of the Derbyshire Survey
is here, and is contained in the sixth of these volumes. That
part relating to the Hundred of Scarsdale extends from page 450
to 477.

The following preliminary note to this portion of the Survey
gives the names of the Commissioners and Jury for the Hun-
dred ; the details of each benefice, including the character of
the clergyman, as it appeared in the eyes of the Roundheads, are
given under each of the churches.

" The Inquisition was taken at Chesterfield on the 14th
of June, 1650, before the following Commissioners : — Thomas
Saunders, Lyonell Fanshaw, Francis Revell, William Wolley,
hklward Manlove, Nathaniel Barton, William Bothe, John Spate-
man, Hugh Bateman, and Robert Hoghe. A jury of thirteen
' good and lawfull men. of the Hundred of Scarsdale ' were sworn
to make the returns, viz., William Newton, Godfrey Watkinson,
John Bunting, Richard Hodgkinson, Robert Bowman, William
Blythe, John Richardson, George Stubbius, Godfrey Stubbins,
Robert Ross, Thomas Curtiss, John Clay, and Thomas Ludlam."

County historians, as well as ecclesiologists, appear for the
most part to have overlooked these surveys ; though occasional
extracts have been taken from a much abbreviated and in-
accurate summary, based on these documents, which forms No.
459 of the Lansdowne MSS. in the British Museum. The Lam-
beth Library also contains many of the original presentations to
benefices made during the Commonwealth (MSS. 944 — 947) ;
two of these relating to the Hundred of Scarsdale — Shirland and
Whit well — are quoted in this volume. It is singular that com-
paratively so little use is made of this fine library and .its unique
collection of manuscripts, especially as it is now open to the

XIV DEKBYSHIKE CHUHCHES.

public on three days in the week. I am glad of this opportunity
of Acknowledging my indebtedness to Mr. S. W. Kershaw, M.A.,
the courteous librarian.

In that grandest of all literary storehouses, the British
Museum, there is an abundance of unpublished material relative
to this county. In addition to the information scattered up
and down through the Cottonian, Lansdowne, and Harleian
Collections, there are also several minor collections, treating
more specifically of the county of Derby, and which are all
included in the very wide class of " Additional MSS."

My object in this introduction, as I have already stated, being
to enable others readily to follow up the subject if so disposed,
1 will very briefly refer to the volumes containing information
with respect to the churches. It is the more important to do
so, as none of the smaller collections, except the Wolley, are
indexed : or there mi^ht even be a tedious search through the

* o o

catalogues for the collection itself. The large collection, formed
by Mr. Adam Wolley, of Matlock, for a projected county history,
at the close of last century, and during the early years of the
present one, is comprised in over fifty volumes, from 6066 to
6718 of the Add. MSS. These volumes, bequeathed in 1828, are
only indexed after an imperfect fashion ; those containing
the most information respecting the churches are 6066 to 6675
inclusive, and 0701, which is the volume of church notes taken
by Mr. Reynolds, of Plaistow, about the year 1750.

The Rev. Alfred Suckling took some notes of a few Derbyshire
churches, with the arms blazoned in colours, and other accurate
sketches, in the summer of 1823 ; these will be found in Add.
MSS. 18,478, and 18,479.

The Collectanea Hunteriauea, of the historian of Hallamshire,
purchased by the British Museum, in 1862, comprise many
volumes, but those connected with this subject are numbered
Add. MSS. 24,447; 24,400; and 2MO(i.

Mr. Samuel Mitchell, of Sheffield, who issued a prospectus, in
1855, of a History of the Hundreds of High Peak and Scarsd.-de,
but who died, in 1869, without accomplishing his object, be-
queathed his collections to the British Must-um; a good deal of
condensed information, chiefly relating to the churches of the

INTRODUCTION. XV

High Peak, will be found in Add. MSS. 28,111, and there are
some most useful pedigrees in 28,113.

The whole of the manuscript collections, upon which the
Messrs. Lysons Uised their Ma</na Britdnn'ni, are also in the
M useiun. Some of the volumes consist entirely of correspondence,
addressed to them by the clergy and others from the different
parishes, those relating to Derbyshire being numbered Add. MSS.
9423 — U4:>o. No. 9448 will also be found to be worth con-
sulting, as Messrs. Lysons did not avail themselves in their
printed works of all the material that they had gathered together.
No. 94G3 possesses special interest, as it consists entirely of Derby-
shire church notes, with frequent pencil sketches of architectural
details.

This vast horde of MSS. also contains some of the earliest, as
well as the latest, information of value to the ecclesiologist.
Amongst the former, may be mentioned various copies of the
ancient Monastic Charttilaries, which I have in all available cases
consulted, whenever they bore upon the churches under con-
sideration; these are chiefly to be found in the Cottoniau Library.
(There is an alphabetical list of the Chartularies in Add. MSS. 5161,
as well as a more exhaustive one in the first two volumes of
Nichols' Collectanea) Of the latter, the interesting collection of
original Briefs, from 1754 down to their abolition, in 18i'8, should
not be forgotten. This collection was presented to the Museum,
in 1829, by Mr. J. Stevenson Salt, and contains many particu-
lars relative to the rebuilding of Derbyshire churches, but a
more complete list will be found amongst the Derbyshire County
records now in process of arrangement.

The Harleian MSS. abound in Heraldic Visitations. The
Visitations of Derbyshire, in 1569 and 1012, contain numerous
church notes, and different copies of them will be found under
Harl. MSS. 1,093, 1,486, 1,537, 5,809, and 6,829; but the fullest
church notes are contained in number 6,592. This volume is
Wyrley's copy of Flower's Visitation of 1569, with additions
taken by himself, in 1592 ; and all that relates to the churches of
the Hundred of Scarsdale is given verbatim in the following
pa-vs. No small trouble has been taken to identify the various
coats of arms mentioned in the differentVisitations, and to account
for their former presence in their respective church windows.

XVI DKRHYSHIKK OflURCHES

The mention of the Visitations brings me to the College of
Arms ; and I would here wish to acknowledge the rare privilege
accorded to me, of thoroughly examining Dr. Pegge's Collections,
and the Church Notes of Francis Bassano. Lysons makes a lew
quotations from the latter, hut, with that exception, his notes
(taken about 1710 and treating of almost every church in the
county) have not in any way been hitherto made public. The
collections of that excellent Derbyshire antiquary, Dr. Samuel
Pegge, are comprised in eight folio volumes of very closely
written manuscript. These volumes, too, have been but very
sparsely consulted up to the present time, though a brief analysis
of the contents of each volume was given in the third volume of
Nichols' Collectanea. The first four volumes contain parochial
history, alphabetically arranged, the fifth, parochial miscellanies,
the sixth, Derbyshire biography and pedigrees, and the seventh
and eighth, miscellaneous papers, chiefly relating to the same
county. These have all been gone carefully through, page by
page, and I believe that nothing of importance, relating to the
fabric or history of the churches, has escaped me

The multitudinous collections of the diligent Dodsworth, in
the Bodleian Library at Oxford, are in a great measure derived
from the National Records; and, now that the originals are so
easily accessible to the public, these compilations are, to no small
extent, superseded. Moreover, Mr. Samuel Mitchell collected the
cream of them, so far as Derbyshire is concerned, and Mr. Henry
Kirke published in the Reliquary, for April, 1872, all the Church
Notes of this county, with but few exceptions, that can be thence
gleaned. The Ashmolean MSS. contain various Heraldic Visita-
tions, amongst others, Flower's Visitation of Derbyshire in 15G9,
which is numbered 793, but this is the same as in the Harleian
MSS. The most interesting feature of this collection, in connec-
tion with our subject, is number 854, which contains the Church
Notes of Elias Ashmole, taken in Derbyshire, in 1602. He only
visited two churches mentioned in these pages, Chesterfield and
Staveley, but there is much in connection with the churches of
other parts of the county. I had the pleasure of a leisurely
inspection of these latter notes at the house of Mr. John Joseph
i Kings N. \\ton, who possesses a manuscript copy.
This gentleman, who so generously placed his library at my

INTRODUCTION. xvii

service, will perhaps pardon me for congratulating him on the
possession of so unique a series of local literature. Not only
does Mr. Briggs possess a copy of Elias Ashmole's Visitation,, lnit
also of Philip Kinder's quaint outline sketch of Derbyshire
history, from the same library, and of William Wolley's Histoiy,
completed in 1712, the original of which is at the College of
Arms. And no other word than magnificent can do justice to
the various volumes, rich in original sketches of the greatest
fidelity, gorgeous in binding, and brilliant with the illuminator's
art, which treat of the abbeys, castles, crosses, but more
especially of the monuments of Derbyshire.

Had these pages aimed at an exhaustive treatment of the
subject, it would have been well to comply with the suggestions
that reached us from more than one quarter, of including the
detailed description of every monument within the churches,
down to the present time. But the great addition that would
thus be made to the size of the volumes, and consequent increase
in their price, precluded my taking this into consideration, even
if there had been no other objection ; for I found, after careful
calculation, that a simple transcript of all the interior monumen-
tal inscriptions of the churches of Scarsdale would in itself cover
more than 500 pages of the size of the present volume. It was
necessary to draw the line at some definite point, and I have
drawn it at that epoch, nearly corresponding with the conclusion
of Henry VlII.'s reign, when the Renaissance style commenced.
But there is no rigid adherence to this rule when anything
specially remarkable in a later monument seems to demand
comment or description. I have also made an exception in
every case with monuments that have disappeared or have been
defaced. All information with respect to such monuments, of
whatever date, which can be gleaned from competent sources, is
here included.

It has been with no little diffidence that I have treated of the
Architectural Periods, as displayed in the construction of the
respective churches, for there is considerable difference of opinion,
even amongst the most competent ecclesiologists, with respect
to the different epochs of " transition," when the styles are wont
to overlap one another. I think, however, that it will be found
that I have nut expressed myself with too great confidence, in

XV111 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

;iin^ dates to any details of doubtful chronology; if I have
erred.it has not been for lack of consulting the best authorities, such
as Rickman, Bloxam, AVillis, Pugin, Parker, Brandon, Fergusson,
and Sharpe, nor for lack of a wide-spread personal knowledge of
our parisli churches in different parts of England, which is of far
more value than the closest study of books or engravings. As
it is hoped that this volume and its successors will be books of
popular reference in the county, 1 have confined myself to the
simple and generally known divisions of English architecture,
originally adopted by Mr. Eickman, viz., (1) the Saxon, from 800
to 1066 ; (2) the Xorman, from 1066 to 1145 ; (3) the Early
English, from 1145 to 1272 ; (4) the Decorated, from 1272 to
1377; and (5) the Perpendicular, from 1377 to 1509. These
divisions are generally accepted as sufficing for popular puposes ;
but of the more detailed and technical divisions of later writers,
there are none so correct in nomenclature, and so accurate in the
separation of style, as the seven periods of Mr. Edmund Sharpe.
The first and second of his periods are the same as given above ;
but the third is styled the Transitional, from 1145 to 11.90 ; the
fourth the Lancet, from 1190 to 1245 ; the fifth the Geometrical,
from 1245 to 1315 ; the sixth the Curvilinear, from 1315 to
1360; and the seventh the Rectilinear, from 1360 to 1550. It
is much to be wished that our various archaeological and archi-
tectural societies could come to some understanding by which
the use of such terms as "Decorated "and "Perpendicular" might
be abandoned for a more expressive and accurate nomenclature;
but, until this is done, it is not to be expected that they will be
forsaken in a work like the present. The same reason that has
caused me to retain these terms, has also induced me to give a
brief glossary of some of the technical expressions used in these
pages, which are as few and as simple as necessity would admit.

Owing to the profusion of proper names, and the frequent use
of old-fashioned orthography, a volume like this is peculiarly
liable to errors, attributable to either author or printer ; but I
had hoped, by care, to avoid the necessity of any list of errata,
and to have contented myself with reproducing the following
couplet, address,,! to tho reader, which I found the other day in
ik just two ci-ntiiries old : —

'Thi* ,,,-M Imtli had its faults, the Printer, too •
All mo,, whilst here do erre, aud so may you."

INTRODUCTION. XIX

But indisposition of long continuance caused the correction of
proofs to be more than once interrupted, and necessitated much
of it being accomplished when away from home and from all
books of reference. This must be my apology for the length of
both Addenda et Corrigenda.

It is mournful to think that several of those to whom I was
under obligations in the production of these pages are now no
more. Of these may be mentioned the Rev. George Antrobus,
vicar of Beightou, who was specially interested in the account of
his own and adjacent churches ; and that eminent genealogist,
Mr. William Swifr, of Sheffield, who was not more distinguished
for the accuracy of his knowledge, than for his generosity in
transmitting it to others engaged in similar pursuits.

I have acknowledged my indebtedness for specific pieces of
information to various ladies and gentlemen in the notes to the
text, but I desire here to thank the clergy generally for the
promptness and courtesy with which they have responded (with
a single exception) to my inquiries for information with regard
to their respective churches. M}- thanks are also specially due
to Mr. S. Rollinson, architect, of Chesterfield, who has so success-
fully carried out the careful restoration of several of the Scarsdale
churches ; and to Mr. Llewellyun Jewitt, F.S.A., the editor of
that invaluable shrine of the treasures of the past, the Reliquary.

With respect to the illustrations, I wish, in the first place, to
state that it is owing to the kindness of Mr. Jewitt, in lending
several of the cuts from his admirable series of papers on the
Church Bells of Derbyshire (now appearing in the Reliquary),
that I am able to present my readers with a plate containing
several of the most striking bell-founders' marks to be found on
the Scarsdale bells. The remainder of the illustrations are all
originals. The thirteen heliotypes are from plates by that well-
known photographer, Mr. Keene, of Derby, specially taken for this
work ; and my thanks are due to my brother-in-law, Captain W.
de W. Abney, R.E., a director of the Heliotype Company, for the
trouble he has taken in connection with their reproduction.
The rest of the plates have been produced by Messrs. Bemrose
and Sons' process of Fac-simile Printing, from drr.wings by
Mr. Bailey and others, a process which seems peculiarly suited for
the illustration of architectural details. With such an abundance

XX DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

of delicate and beautiful illustrations of mediaeval architecture, as
is afforded by the Scarsdale churches, it was a difficult and in-
vidious task to select those objects most worthy of reproduction ;
but I would fain hope that the number, as well as the quality of
the plates, will prove satisfactory, especially when the price of the
volume is taken into consideration.

The time has happily long since gone by when any apology
was expected for writing on antiquarian subjects. In fact only
those who are prepared to attack the whole science of history,
can afford to sneer at the most painstaking researches in even
the humblest of her bye-paths. For what is even national
history but an aggregate of small details ? And who can deny
an important place in our national history to the churches of our
once common faith ? Critics may very possibly detect in these
pages errors of omission or commission, which have escaped my
attention, and I shall be only too glad to have all such mistakes
pointed out either publicly or privately. But it is only those
occupied in similar studies who can form a just idea of the
time and trouble that is requisite for an investigation of this
description, and I am confident that they will not deny me the
satisfaction of admitting the thoroughness of my efforts to gain
veracious information. Yet it would be idle to pretend that this
expenditure of time has been of the nature of a task. It has, on
the contrary, been an enjoyable relaxation from other pursuits,
and the writing of the last word of this volume would cause me
a pang of regret if it were not that I am already engaged in the
succeeding portions of the work. A writer of last century truly
remarks, " there is an exquisite pleasure in rescuing the memory
of past days from the dust scattered over it by time, of which
none but those engaged in the pursuits can have any idea."

J. CHARLES COX.

Hazehvood, November, 1875.

XX111

CONTENTS.

PAGE

ALFRETON 8

BIDDINGS 14

ASHOVER 17

DETHICK 88

LEA 47

BARLBOROUGH 51

BARLOW 63

BEAUCHIEF ABBEY 73

BEIGHTON 83

BLACKWELL 93

BOLSOVER 99

BRAMPTON 109

CHESTERFIELD 121

BRIJIINGTON 176

NEWBOLD 1 78

TEilPLE NORMANTON 182

WALTON 188

CLOWN 193

DRONFIELD 201

HOLMESFIELD 215

CORE 218

ECKINGTON 221

ELMTON 235

HAULT HUCKNALL 241

HEATH 253

KILLAMARSH . 261

XXIV • DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

LANGWITH 267

MORTON 273

BRACKEN'FIELD 277

NORMANTON, SOUTH 283

NORTON 291

PINXTON 303

PLEASLEY 311

SHIREBROOK 317

SCARCLIFFE 321

SHIRLAND 331

STAVELEY 345

SUTTON-IN-THE-DALE 367

DUCKSIANTON 878

TIBSHELF 883

WHITWELL 391

STEETLEY 899

WHITTINGTON 405

WINFIELD, NORTH 415

WINFIELD, SOUTH 437

LINBERY 445

WINGERWORTH 449

APPENDIX 459

GLOSSARY 481

INDEX OF PERSONS 487

INDEX OF PLACES... . 493

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE
CilKSTERFIELD CHURCH, S. W. (FROM IM'IKi K ).

ALFRETON CHURCH, THE PORCH 8

ASHOVER CHURCH, E 17

DETHICK CHAPEL, w. 38

BOLSOVER CHURCH, s. E iW

CHESTERFIELD, DETAILS OF THE REREDOS 188

BELL-FOUNDEKS' MARKS 170

1. The mark of Ralph Heathcote (this mark appears at Droufield aud
: cliffe). 2. The mark attributed, but probably iu error, to Kichard
Mellour (Bolsover, Dronfield, Mortou, aud Shirlaud). 3. The mark of
Gilbert Heathcote ; this eugraving is from a bell at Beeley, but it was
formerly on the large bell of the old peal at Chesterfield, i. The mark
of Heury Oldfield (Blackwell, Bolsover, Clown, Dronfield, and Hault
Hucknall). 5. The mark of George Oldfield (Ashover, Bolsover, Hault
Hucknall, South Normauton, and North "\Viuiield).

DRONFIELD CHURCH, THE CHANCEL, s 201

THE SEDILIA OF DRONFIELD AND WHITWELL 202

ECKINGTON CHURCH, w 221

HAULT HUCKNALL CHURCH, s.w 241

HAULT HUCKNALL, NOMMAN TYMPANUM, AND PORTION OF OLD SCREEN... 243

HEATH, INCISED SLAB IN THE OLD PORCH 257

THE FONTS OF ASHOVER, NORTON, STAVELEY, AND NORTH WINFIELD 292

SHIRLAND CHURCH, s. K 331

WHITWELL CHURCH, w. DOORWAY 391

STEETLEY CHAPEL, INTERIOR E 899

STEETLEY CHAPEL, DETAILS <» CHANCEL ARCH 401

NORTH WINFIELD CHURCH, s. E 415

THE APSE OF STEETLEY ; NORTH DOORWAY, ASHOVER ; AND WINDOW

OF NORTH AISLE. NoKTH WlNFIKI.l) .. \'1'1

HE carliebt inentiou of Alfreton is iri the charter of
endowment of Burton Abbey by \Vulfric Spott, in the
year 1002, when the manor, or a portion of it, was
bestowed upon that inona But at the time of the Domes-

day Survey, which appears from internal evidence to have not
been completed in Derbyshire till 1087, the lands at Alfreton had
reverted into lay hands, and were held by Ingram under Roger
de Busli. The Domesday Book contains no reference to a church
at Alfreton, and the first notice of one occurs at the endowment
of Beauchief Abbey in the reign of Henry II. t This Abbey
founded, between the years 1172 and 1176, by Eobert Fitz
Rauulph, who was lord of Alfreton and Norton. He gave to the
Abbey the churches of Alfretou and Norton, in Derbyshire,
Edwalton§ in Nottinghamshire, and "NVimeswold in Leicestershire.
Eobert Fitz Ranulph was immediately descended from Ingram, and
his descendants subsequently adopted the name of their principal
manor of Alfreton. We cannot discover any details of the church,
as it now exists, that would connect it with the early Norman
era, or that could be assigned to an earlier date than the latter
end of the twelfth century, and we may therefore fairly assume
that Robert Fitz Ranulph was himself the founder of the church
that he bestowed on the Prernonstratensian Canons of Beauchief.

The church, which is dedicated to St. Martin, consists of a nave,
side aisles, south porch, western tower, and chancel, with a \
on the north side. Seven years ago it underwent a considerable
restoration and enlargement, but two engravings, now before us,

* Thorpe's Diplomat arium Anglicum JEvi Saxonici, pp. 543 — 9.

fThe Chartulary of Beauchief Abbey \vas in the possession of Richard Da^
Lanerch, Denbighshire, in IT'.'O. There is a copy of it amongst Pegge's MS. Collec-
tions, vol. 7, pp. 89—180.

§ " Echvaldeston " or " Edwaldyston," as it is -written in the charters, has been
translated by Lysons, Glover, &c., into Elvaston, in Derbyshire ; but there seems
no doubt that Edwalton, in Nottinghamshire, is the correct rendering, more especially
as the church of Elvaston belonged to the priory of Shelf ord.

4 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

enable us to form a cursory judgment of its appearance prior to
the alterations. One of these is from the Gentleman's Magazine for
1785, and the other is a woodcut in Glover's History of Derbyshire,
published in 1833. Both of these give a south-east view of the
church, though under the former, by a strange perversity of the
printer, is " Alfreton, N.E." At the time of the restoration the
north aisle was entirely rebuilt and considerably widened ; an extra
bay was added to the east end of the nave and to both the side
aisles ; and the chancel, in order to retain its former size, was
extended to a corresponding distance. The roof of the nave was
also raised to a high pitch, having formerly been almost flat.
Some of the old tie-beams were removed to Nottingham, and have
been utilized in constructing the entrance to the Children's Hospital
in that town. The engravings show that there was formerly an
entrance to the south aisle, at the east end, at the top of a flight
of steps, leading, we suppose, to a loft or gallery.

On entering the church, it appears that one of the oldest
portions is the archway from the nave into the tower. It is a
high, narrow archway, of the style technically termed " stilted,"
i.e., the centre, or point from which the curve of the arch is
struck, is above the line of the impost or capitals, and the
mouldings between these two levels are continued vertically.
Stilted arches are of unfrequent occurrence, and are usually met
with at the end of the Norman style or beginning of the Early
English. This pointed archway, from the mouldings of its capitals,
may certainly be attributed to the Early English period, but quite
at the commencement of that style. The moulding of the south
capital shows the nail-head ornament, whilst that on the
north side has the same, but under it the addition of a well-
defined cable -pattern moulding. The old chancel arch had, we
were told, some traces of Early English work about it, but the
only other memorial of that period now apparent is the head of a
sepulchral cross, found under the pavement of the chancel during
the alterations, and which now occupies a conspicuous position in
the external wall below the east window of the chancel. It is the
upper portion of an incised slab or coffin lid, and the device con-
sists of a floriated cross within a circle, the cross being thrown
into relief by cutting away the remaining part of the stone within
the circle. A precisely similar pattern to this one may be found
amongst the Bakewell slabs, and also at more than one church in
the county of Nottingham. It belongs to the commencement of

ALFRETON. 5

the thirteenth century, or to the end of the twelfth. This stone
may very possibly have marked the last resting place of the first
interment within the church of Alfreton, perhaps of its first
priest, as only priests or founders found sepulture in the chancel.

Of the Decorated period, the arches separating the nave from
the side aisles afford evidence. These are now five in number on
each side, but the easternmost ones were added in 1868, when
the chancel was put back in order to afford additional accommoda-
tion. It was at the same time found necessary to take down the
archways and columns between the nave and the north aisle, but they
were restored exactly as before, and the half column or pilaster at
the west end was not disturbed. The columns are circular, sup-
ported on octagon bases, and having plainly moulded capitals, below
which they are encircled with a single fillet. Their approximate
date seems to be about 1320. The columns on the south side are
octagon, and both the bases and capitals are of similar construc-
tion ; probably they are some thirty years later than those on the .
other side.

The south doorway, which is of a plain character, having no
shafts in the jambs but the moulding of the arch continued down
to the plinth, also belongs to the Decorated period. The outer
doorway of the porch is of a similar style, but surmounted with a
dripstone terminating in two quaintly carved human heads. Above
the doorway is a boldly projecting moulding or cornice, which
closely resembles in its details some of the work on the spire of
Bonsall church. On the under side of this cornice are four-
leaved flowers and foliage, whilst on the upper margin are a
number of small escutcheons. Above this again is a somewhat
elaborately ornamented niche for the patron saint, now tenantless,
adorned with a crocketed canopy and finials. On each side of it
is another small shield cut in the centre of a quatrefoil panel.
The interior of the porch still shows the old oak timbers of the
roof.

The tower is a fair specimen of early Perpendicular work. The
doorway below the west window, with its dripstone and terminals,
might, if taken by itself, be ascribed to the preceding style, and
the fine tracery of the bell-chamber windows partakes of the
Decorated period. But the buttresses, west window, embattled
parapet with its four crocketed pinnacles, and general appearance
point distinctly to the later style. It was probably constructed
about the commencement of the fifteenth century.

0 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

The windows of the south aisle afford specimens of the inelegant
tracery occasionally produced by the architects of the Perpendicular
period. They are all three-light windows in obtusely-pointed arch-
ways, and, with the exception of one inserted when the church
was lengthened, remain as they were originally designed. It is
evident from the old engravings that the east window of the chan-
cel was formerly filled with Perpendicular tracery. This window
was renewed about twenty years prior to the general restoration,
and it has now been moved to occupy the position of west window
to the north aisle. The original dripstone with its battered ter-
minals still surmounts it in its new position. This north aisle, as
has been before remarked, was pulled down during the alterations.
It was of good solid masonry, but with square-headed windows, and
was generally supposed to have been rebuilt at the time of the
building of the new hall, which closely adjoins the churchyard.
We do not know the precise date of the building of the hall, but
Mr. Eeynolds, to whose notes we shall presently refer, writing in
1758, says : — " The old hall stood in a direct line betwixt the
present one and the church, at about the middle distance. It was
most of it pulled down and the present one begun building before

1 can remember, but the new hall was finished and the old one
quite demolished within my memory." Amongst the masonry of
the north aisle were found fragments of the former windows suffi-
cient to prove that it had previously been lighted in a similar style
to the aisle on the opposite side. The square -top clerestory win-
dows, now five in number on each side and filled with neat
tracery, appear quite plain in ' the old engravings. This was
generally the fate with clerestory windows of the Perpendicular
period during the era of "Churchwarden" improvements, but it is
not easy to conjecture why there was this special enmity to tracery
in the upper windows.

A good example of Perpendicular work is afforded by the vestry
on the north side of the chancel. It is entered by a doorway from
the chancel, and its inner area is about fourteen feet by nine. It
is lighted by two small windows — one of two lights at the east end,
and one of a single light with a cinquefoil head just opposite the
door. It appears that this window was not formerly glazed, or if
so it was further protected by a shutter, for strong iron hinges
and an iron staple yet remain fixed in the wall. The small
windows sometimes found in chancels and vestries, that were for-
merly closod with shutters, have given rise to no little archa?ological

ALFRETON. 7

bickering and dispute, a subject into which we shall not on this
occasion enter. The roof of this vestry is worthy of note, as it is
arched with stone and rubble work. The ribs of the two transverse
stone arches are plainly shown, but the intervening rubble work
has unfortunately been concealed with plaster. When the white-
wash was being cleared from the walls at the time of the restora-
tion, and sound stone substituted for that which was decayed, a
small recess was found in the west wall of the vestry completely
built up. It contained a large key and some small fragments of
rusted iron. The key is now preserved at the vicarage, and though
of some age does not appear to be of pre -reformation date. The
placing of a key in such a locality can scarcely be accounted for,
except by the supposition that it was the mischievous trick of a
mason employed in some former repairs. The east end of the
vestry was formerly flush with the end of the chancel, though the
latter is now carried on some distance beyond. It was found
necessary in the alterations of 1868 to take down all the chancel,
except that portion of the north wall that formed one side of the
vestry. A moment's inspection shows that the vestry was built at
a date subsequent to this chancel wall, for it has a string-course
running along the side of the wall about three feet from the ground
inside the vestry, which proves that it was originally an exterior
wall against which the vestry had been built. The moulding of this
string-course proves that it was erected prior to the Perpendicular
period.

Against this piece of the old wall, inside the chancel, is fixed
the one memorial of this church that calls for special notice in
these " Notes." But before describing it, it would be well here to
introduce the notes on Alfreton Church that were taken by Mr. J.
Reynolds, of Plaistow, near Crich, on the 16th May, 1758. These
notes have not been before printed, and are here reproduced from the
original MS. in the British Museum. He tells us that tftthat time
the roof was covered with lead, except the chancel, which was slated.
There were three bells, but a note inserted in the year 1781 says
"now five." In the north-east corner was a chantry, founded by
the Lords of the Manor and dedicated to St. Mary, the revenues of
which at its suppression in the time of Edward VI. were £5 Os. 8d.
" The rails and ceiling separating this chantry from the church
are yet standing quite in tire, there is also a hole through the wall
which affords a prospect of the altar in the chancel out of this
chantry. The pavement of the said chantry is of common pavers

8 DERBYSHIKE CHURCHES.

and only one monument against the East wall with this inscription
in gilt letters on a bluish kind of a table now scarcely legible. ' Hie
jacet corpus Antonii Morewood generosi, qui oinisit spiritual, &c.,

9 June, 1636 ; ' above escutcheon of two coats quarterly, Morewood
and Stafford. Opposite this chantry in south-east corner seems to
have been another, the rails and ceilings whereof are now whole,
but as to what it has really been tradition is silent. No vestige of
monument here, but filled with pews like the rest of the church.
At the upper end of the middle alley is a Brass plate, frequfnte
pede trita, affixed upon an Alabaster paver with an inscription in
round hand, all that is legible being : — ' Exuviae Joh. Oldfield

Evang. Min 1682 set. 55.' He was a dissenting Minister.

He lived in the town and was an excellent Gramariau, skilled in
the Greek tongue, as I've been told by several ancient persons
when I was a boy.* At the lower end of the middle alley a
large paver of common stone with marginal inscriptions hi very
ancient characters of a pretty large size, but so worn, dirty, and
bad light, that no whole word could be read. The Reverend Mr.
Cornelius Home, then Vicar of Alfreton, when I took this account,
who accompanied me, said he'd get the stone cleansed from the
dirt, and then we would take another view, but this has not yet
happened. There is but one monument in the chancel, an old
defaced chest tomb in the north-east corner within the Communion
rails, and joining to the walls, having four escutcheons, one at
west, and three on south, but quite smooth and no charges, the
charges I suppose having only been painted. Over the said tomb

*As Mr. John Oldfield was a man of prominence amongst the ministers ejected at
the Restoration, a word or two respecting him will not be out of place. He was born
near Chesterfield, and educated at Bromfield School. He had great reputation as a
scholar " both in the tongues and in mathematics." The living that he held in
this county, and from which he was ejected in 1662, was the small one of Carsington,
then worth £70 a year, but though pressed to accept Tamworth and other valuable
preferments, he was persuaded to remain in Derbyshire from the attachment of his
congregation^ Calamy says of him : — " This good man had many removes after he
was ejected^ct God told his wanderings, and he had songs in the houses of his
pilgrimage^Ble was one of great moderation ; which he thought himself obliged to
testify by going sometimes to church. And yet he was many ways a sufferer for his
Nonconformity. He for sometime preached once a fortnight at Rodenuke, where a
meeting being discovered by two informers, they swore against him upon presump-
tion that he was the preacher, though as it fell out, it was not his day. However he
was prosecuted with much eagerness. Whereupon Esquire Spademan (a worthy
gentleman who was owner of the house where the meeting was) and Mr. Oldfield
made their appeal, and gave so clear proof of his being ten miles distant at the time
he was sworn to, that he was cleared : and the informers being afterwards prose-
cuted, were found perjured. Upon which one of them ran away, and the other stood
in the pillory at Derby, with this inscription affixed, a base perjured informer. He
spent the latter part of his life at Alfreton, from whence he took many weary steps
to serve his Master, and was very useful in that neighbourhood ; but at last wits
forced by his infirmities to cease from his labours, and departed to his everlasting
rest. June 5, 1682. .5Stat. 55."— (Calamy's Rjec'ed Ministers, vol. 2, p. 172.) Mr. Old-
field was the author of several theological publications. Readers of Mrs. GaskelTs
inimitable novel, Xorth and S<mfh, will recollect the quotation from Oldfield's
eloquent address on his ejection.

ALFBETON. 9

is a brass plate (the inscription we give below), and above this is a
brass escutcheon, two coats impaled, 1st, Azure, a chief indented,
Or, Orniond; 2nd Azure, two chevrons, Or, Chaworth. Beneath
appear vestiges of three escutcheons, formerly fastened there."* He
further adds, in conclusion, that there is no painted glass nor arms
in any of the windows.

This church was also visited by Francis Bassano, some fifty
years earlier, and he, too, describes the " raised stone monument
four feet high " on the north side of the chancel. He further
notes in the body of the church a flat stone in bad characters —
" Orate pro aninia Joins Cotes qui obiit quinto die mensis Novem-
bris. A.D. MCCCCXLVII." This is probably the tornb that Mr.
Keynolds failed to decipher.

From these accounts we are able to judge as to the amount of
damage that has been done to the interior of the church during
the past hundred years. The chest tomb in the north-east corner
of the chancel has utterly disappeared, nor do there appear to be
any traces of the tomb of the Dissenting minister, or of the
"large grave with very ancient characters" that Mr. Eeynolds
unfortunately failed to decypher. The "railings," or probably screen
work, that separated the chantries frorn the rest of the church are
now no more, nor could we hear of any recoUection of their ex-
istence. The destructive tendencies of the church improvers of
the last century, did far more damage to our parish churches than
was effected by the troopers of the Commonwealth. The saw of
the village carpenter and the pot of the whitewasher, under the
direction of the petty parochial authorities who dearly loved to find
jobs for their relatives, have, in the time of peace, brought about
a considerable share of that disfigurement of ecclesiastical buildings,
which the popular mind of the present day always attributes to
the civil wars, if not to the very arm of Cromwell himself.

The chantry at the end of the north aisle is thus described in the
Chantry Roll : — " The Chauntrye of our Ladye of Alfreton founded
by lords of the manor who ben patrons. ' \ijli. viijs. viijc/.
clere \jli. xiij.s. besyds xiij,?. for the fyndyuge of a lanipe yerlie ;
ij.s\ \uj<I. for fyndynge of a taper ; xliij*. for lands given by Jo.
Ormonde for iiijx)txix yeres for fyndynge of a lampe brennynge
nighte and daye before the hyghe alter, and to kepe his obitt, by

*-Add. MSS., 6701. This is a thin folio volume amongst the Wolley MSS., contain-
ing Mr. Reynolds' notes on the following churches: — Staveley, Alfreton, South A\ 'in-
field, Crich, Chapel-en-le-Frith, DVonheld, Spondon, Elvaston, Darley, Norton,
Chesterfield, Edensor, and Beeley.

10 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

will dated j Oct. A.D. Mlodiij°. Rob. White Chauntry prcste. It
hath a mancyon prised att viijs. by yere. Stock Ixs. vijc/."

AVe cannot learn that there was any trace left of this chantry
at the end of the north aisle, even before the recent restoration,
except that what was then the most eastern pillar of that side
of the nave, was enlarged by a kind of additional half pillar built
against it, upon which were some remains of painting. This has
now been cleared away. Nor was any "hole" or hagioscope for
viewing the altar then observed. The monument to Anthony More-
wood, noticed by Mr. Reynolds, stih1 exists, and there are others of a
more recent date to the same family at the end of the same aisle.
The Chantry EoU does not mention the existence of any second
chantry at Alfreton Church. But this does not of necessity prove
that there was only one, for the enumeration of chantries in the
time of Edward VI. only mentioned those which had then any
existing endowments. Older established ones, whose endowments
had expired or been lost, were not taken into account. But how-
ever this may have been, there was undoubtedly a side altar at the
end of the south aisle ; for during the alterations the remains of
a piscina were found, under what was then the window nearest the
east, in the south wall of that aisle. This piscina had been cut off
level with the wall to make way for pews, and was far too
much mutilated for restoration. The screens that separated these
chantries from the church had quite disappeared, as we have already
remarked ; but, when removing the old pews, a portion of old oak
carving was found at the west end of the nave, which has clearly
at one time formed part of a screen, perhaps one of these chapels.
It is a good specimen of early Perpendicular work, and there is just
enough remaining to allow us to form a judgment of the care that
had been bestowed upon the carving of the tracery. This fragment
is now preserved at the Vicarage.

Let us now return to the chancel, to the Ormond-Chaworth monu-
ment. It consists of a large slab of gritstone built into the
north wall, across the centre of which is fastened an oblong plate
of brass bearing the inscription. Above it is the escutcheon, still
existing as described by Eeynolds, on which are impaled the arms
of Ormoud and Cha worth, or rather of Alfretou adopted by
Chaworth. Above this again are the matrices or indentations that
show that there were formerly two kneeling figures with scrolls
proceeding from, their mouths, and between them another plate of
metal, perhaps a sacred emblem, such as that of the Trinity, which

ALFRETON. 1 1

is not unfrequent on brasses of this date. Below the inscription
there are also other matrices of three escutcheons, and by each
escutcheon it seems that there has been a small figure \vith a further
inscription attached to it. The inscription is in Latin, and bristles
with an unusual number of capricious contractions. We will,
therefore, content ourselves with giving it in an English dress : —
" Here lies John Ormond, Esquire, and Joan his wife, the daughter
and heiress of William Chaworth, Knight, the son and heir of
Thomas Chaworth, Knight, the sou and heir of William Cha-
worth, Knight, and of Alice his wife, daughter and heiress
of John Caltofte, Knight, the relative and heir of John Brett,
Knight, and of the daughter of Katharine, sister of the said John
Brett; and the said William Chaworth, the son of Thomas, is
also the son and heir of Isabella, the wife of the said Thomas, one
of the daughters and heiresses of Thomas Aylisbury, Knight, the
son and heir of John Aylisbury, Knight, the sou and hen- of Thomas
Aylisbury, Knight, and Joan his wife, one of the daughters and
heiresses of Ralph, Lord of Bassett of Welldon ; and the said Isa-
bella is also the daughter of Katharine, the wife of the said Thomas
Aylisbury, Knight, son and heir of Lawrence Pabeuham, Knight,
and Elizabeth his wife, one of the daughters and heiresses of John,
Lord of Eugayne ; which said John Ormoud died the 5th day of
the month October, in the year of our Lord 1503, and in the
19th year of Henry TIL, King of England; and the said Joan
died on the 29th day of the month August, in the year of our Lord
1507 — On whose souls may God have mercy — Amen."

They had issue three daughters, their coheirs, Joan, wife of
Thomas Dinham, natural sou of John, the last Lord Diiiham ;
Elizabeth, wife of Sir Anthony Babiugton ; and Anne, wife of
William Mering, of Nottinghamshire.

The Dodsworth MSS., in the Bodleian Library, supply the
following : — " On the side of the tomb it appeareth, John Ormond
had three daughter-.
" 1. Johanna uxor Thomas Denham de Eythorp, in Co. Bucks.

Gules 3 lozenges or, charged with 2 ermines, which quarters

with yules 3 horse shoes (or such like) impaled with azure 2

chevrons or.

" 2. Eliz. ux. Antonie Babington de Dethick.
" 3. Anna uxor W. Meering de Meering, in Co. Notts.
"Everyone of them impaled with azure 2 chevrons <->r. "

The descendants of Robert Fitz Ranulph, the probable founder

12 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

of the church at Alfreton, took the name of "de Alfreton," and
on the death of his great grandson, Thomas de Alfreton, the
manor descended in 1269 to his nephew Thomas de Chaworth.
This Thomas was a considerable benefactor to the Abbey of
Beauchief, and was of sufficient importance, according to Dugdale,
to be summoned to Parliament as a baron. Future members of
this family, especially Thomas (the son of William and Alice
mentioned on this monument), still further endowed the Abbey
with lauds in Alfreton, Norton, Greenhill, Woodseats, and other
places in Derbyshire. "William Chaworth, as we gather from this
inscription, was the last of the family, and his daughter carried
the manor to Orrnond in the reign of Henry VII. From thence
it passed immediately by marriage to Anthony Babington. His
grandson, Henry Babington, sold the manor about 1565, to John
Zouch, of Codnor. The son of John Zouch sold it to Robert
Sutton, of Aram, in Nottinghamshire, by whom it was sold to
Anthony Morewood, whose tomb we have already noticed in this
church. The advowson of the church seems to have remained
with Beauchief Abbey till the time of the dissolution of the
monasteries, when the rectory of Alfreton, together with the
advowson of the vicarage, was granted to Francis Leake by Henry
VIII., whose descendant, Nicholas, Earl of Scarsdale, sold them in
1673, to John Turner, of Swanwick.* The lands pertaining to the
chantry had been granted by Edward VI. to Thomas, son of
Anthony Babington. The rectorial tithes were sold by auction
in 1779, by the trustees of George Turner, chiefly to the several
landowners, and the advowson of the vicarage was purchased by
the Morewood family.

Below the east window of the chancel is a handsome and effective
reredos, chiefly composed of Derbyshire alabaster. This, though
only a recent addition to the church, is not devoid of interest to
the antiquary, for amongst the marble is worked up a large slab
of alabaster, much worn and in rough condition, that formed part
of the pavement of the chancel previous to the alterations. It was
about six feet in length, and was evenly cut on three of its edges,
one being left in its rough-hewn state. No trace of an inscription
was visible, and from these and other reasons it was conjectured
to have been the old altar stone that had formerly been fixed with
one of its sides built into the wall.

The octagon font at the west end of the nave is modern, the

*Add. MSS. 6705, f. 73.

ALFRETON. 13

old one having utterly disappeared, a mere basin being in use

previous to the restoration.

The bells are five in number, and the following is a copy of

their respective legends : —

1st bell. "To the glory of God I sing and triumph to the King,
the marriage joys I tell, and tolls the dead man's knell. Kaised
by subscription, 1780. Tho. Hedderley, Founder, Nottingham."
This is in Roman capital letters, and occupies two lines round
the haunch of the bell.

2nd bell. " I.I. E.H. All men that heare my mournfull sound,
repent before you lye in ground. 1627." The legend is in one
line in black letter. Below it are the initials, " G. B., D. M."

,8rd bell. " The gift of John Turner, Esq., of Swanwick, 1687,
and recast, 1780. Tho. Hedderley, Founder, Nottingham. Tho.
Haslain, Churchwarden." Two lines of Roman capitals.

4th bell. " Gloria in Excelsis Deo ihc." This legend is in finely
worked Lombardic capitals, the initial G of "Gloria" contains a
fylfot cross. Below, on a shield, is the bell mark, being a
fylfot cross surmounted on the sinister side by the letter H, the
preceding initial having apparently been missed. We have met
with this bell mark in several belfries, and think that the
missing letter is G. This bell-founder's mark is engraved from
one of the Bousall bells in the Reliquary of October, 1873. A
bell with the same inscription and founder's mark at Baslow
bears the date of 1620.

5th bell. " The churches praise I sound always. Raised by sub-
scription, 1780. Tho. Hedderley, Nottingham, founder." In
two lines in Roman capitals.
There is also a small "sanctus" bell, without any inscription,

fixed against the east window of the bell chamber, but it has no

rope attached.

The church of Alfreton was valued in 1291 at £10, according

to the Taxation Roll of Pope Nicholas ; the Valor Ecclesiastic us of

Henry VIII., estimates it at £7 18s. 9d. ; and the Parliamentary

Commissioners of 1650, describe Alfretou as an endowed vicarage

worth £16 per annum.

14 . DEKBYSH1RK CHUKCHES.

of & fittings.

HE manor of Biddings (Ryddings, Eyddyng, or Kydinge),
within the parish of Alfreton, was formerly held with
Alfreton, by the Chaworth family.* Eiddings was an
ancient chapelry, but we have failed to learn when it was founded,
or at what time the chapel, of which there is now no trace, was
disused and demolished. In short, little more is known of it than
that it was dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen. The will of Hugh
Revel, of Shirland, executed in May, 1504, contains the following
item : — " And I will that the Mary Maudelen Chapell, of Eyddyng,
have my Chalez, now in the kepynge of Eic. Page, for ever, and x
kye to maunteyn the stole of the said chappell of Mary Magdalen, "t
The structure was evidently out of repair in 1650, for the Par-
liamentary Commissioners reported — " Eyddyng is a Chappell in
Alfreton parish, fitt to be disused."

*Inq. Post Mortem. 37 Hen. 6, No. 25. An inquisition of 20 Ed. 2, also mentions
" Rydcting " as part of the estate of Walter and Margaret de Goushull, but this
appears to have been land in the parish of Barlborough. The term is not uncommon
as a field name in various parts of England, and is derived from the Danish Rydde,
to grub up, to clear. A place newly cleared of wood is to this day termed Riddings
in some parts of Derbyshire.

t Add. MSS. 6667, f. 125.

E.

ASHOVKK. 17

HEN the Domesday Survrey of Derbyshire was taken, a
church and a priest are mentioned at Ashover. The
next notice that we find respecting the church is in the
reign of Stephen, when it was given by Eobert, Earl Ferrars, to
the Abbey of St. Helen's, at Derby.* The manor of Ashover was
divided into four portions about the close of the thirteenth century,
and it would seem that the lord of one of these manors purchased
the advowson from the Abbey; for on the feast of St. Hilary,
1302, the Newhall Manor, together with the advowson of the
church, was given by Margaret de Beresby, widow, to Adam de
Eeresby, her youngest son. The family of Keresby came from
Lincolnshire, and obtained a footing in Derbyshire by marriage
with a co-heiress of Deincourt in the reign of Henry HI. They
were a family of distinction and on several occasions filled the
office of High Sheriff. The advowson of the church, and the
Manor of Newhall (afterwards called Eastwood Hall), remained in
this family till 1623, when they were sold by Sir Thomas Reresby,
in order to provide portions for his daughters, to the then rector
of Ashover, the Eev. Immauuel Bourne.+ By inter-marriage with
the Bournes the advowson subsequently became vested in the
Nodder family.

The Church is dedicated to All Saints. In more than one
Directory for the county it is said to be dedicated to St. John —
on what authority we know not. The Liber Regis, however, as well
as the county histories of Pilkington, Davis, and Glover, and
earlier authorities, are unanimous as to its being under the pro-
tection of All Saints.

The church consists of a nave, with two side aisles, a chancel,

*Dugdale's Monasticon, vol. 3, p. 61.
t Add MSS. 6675, pp. 4—11.

18 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

a south porch, and a tower surmounted by a spire at the west
end. Of the church that existed here in the Norman period we
can find no trace in the actual structure ; the most ancient portion
seems to be the doorway inside the porch. This is of the early
English period, though late in the style, circa 1270. The jambs
of this doorway are cut into several receding mouldings, and have
on each side two small shafts. The capitals of these shafts differ
in their mouldings, and are but roughly carved. The dripstone
round the archway terminates on each side in a small corbel head,
whilst a third surmounts the apex of the arch. From the very
irregular way in which the courses of the stones that form this
doorway now lie, it seems probable that it was taken down and
re-set when the south aisle was built. There is nothing else about
the church that can clearly be set down to this architectural
period.

Nor is there much to be seen of the next style — the Decorated.
If, however, we go round the church to the north side aisle, we
shall find a good specimen of this period in the small north door-
way, now unfortunately blocked up. It has an ogee- shaped arch
with pierced projecting tracery, and the dripstone is surmounted
by a finial. This aisle has evidently been built during this period,
probably about 1350. Its western end distinctly shows the eleva-
tion of the former high pitched roof, and, upon going into the
interior of the church, thirteen corbel stones, some distance below
the present roof, may be seen above the arches that divide it from
the nave. These stones formed the support for one side of the
original roof. The five arches, too, which separate it from the
nave, supported by octagon pillars, are plain specimens of the
Decorated style. It should be noted that the archway nearest the
chancel is lower and wider than the others, which seems to indi-
cate that an addition was made to the east end of this aisle
during subsequent alterations.

The windows of this aisle are later insertions, and are plain
square-headed examples of the Perpendicular period, except a
hideous round-headed one, attributable to the churchwarden era.
The remainder of the structure is also of the Perpendicular style,
though differing somewhat in date. The whole of the south aisle
^with the exception of the doorway already noticed), the four
arches that separate it from the nave, the clerestory windows of
the nave, the chancel with its east and side windows, together with
the flat roofs throughout the church, and the exterior battlements

ASHOVEK. 19

of the nave and chancel, are all of the same period — apparently
about the close of the fifteenth century.

Local tradition attributes the building of the tower and spire to
the Babingtons, and makes their date coeval with that of the
south aisle. On turning to the pages of Glover, the county his-
torian, we find that he quotes from the MS. book of one Leonard
Wheatcroft, who was clerk of the parish, poet, tailor, and school-
master. Writing in the year 1722, Wheatcroft says that the spire
was originally built about the year 1419. Probably he had some
good data for arriving at this conclusion, and it is one which we
think may be safely accepted. This, too, would be about the date
when the Babiugtons first became connected with Ashover, and the
beautiful windows of the bell-chamber, with their fine tracery,
point to an early period of the Perpendicular style, when it had
happily not forgotten the lessons taught by the Decorated. Although
the south aisle was probably built by the Babingtous, still its
windows, as well as most of the other windows of the church,
are doubtless considerably later in style than the tower and spire.
Subsequent members of this family, or perhaps the Eollestons, may
have made these alterations. It is somewhat remarkable about this
tower that it has no west window of any dimensions, as though it
had not been intended to be opened out into the church; and yet
there is no west doorway, whilst the only exterior one, on the
south side, is obviously a modern addition. The parapet of the
tower is embattled, beneath which project three lengthy gurgoyles.
The spire is of very elegant design, and is ornamented with eight
crocketed windows. Seven yards of this spire were blown down
and rebuilt in 1715.* On looking up into the interior, the extent
of this accident can easily be discerned by the comparative fresh-
ness of the newer masonry. A few years ago several feet at the
summit had to be again restored. The extreme height from the
ground to the top of the vane is 128 feet.

There are various interesting details in the interior of the
church. Foremost among these is the font, placed at the west
end of the north aisle. The base is of stone in an hexagonal
form, and is of a comparatively modern date. The upper part,
however, is circular and constructed of lead. It is two feet one
inch in width, and about one foot in height. It is ornamented
with twenty upright figures of men clad in flowing drapery. Each
figure holds a book in his left hand, and stands under a seini-

* Pegge's Parochial Collections, vol. 1.

20 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

circular arch supported on slender pillars. These figures are almost
precisely similar, and are rudely executed in bas-relief. Beneath
them is a narrow border of fleurs-de-lis. The age of this font has
been much over-rated by Lysons and Glover, who attribute it to
the Saxon period. Lead fonts are very uncommon. The two best
known instances in this country are those at Walmsford, Northamp-
tonshire, and Dorchester, Oxfordshire. In each of these examples
the font is circular, and is embossed, like that at Ashover, with
figures standing beneath semi-circular arches, but the best authori-
ties consider their date to be late in the Norman style, about 1150.
It is possible, then, that this font may have been hi the church of
Ashover when it was given by Earl Ferrers to the Abbey of
Darley, but this is the very earliest date to which it can be safely
assigned.*

At the east end of each of the aisles is a projecting stone bracket
that formerly supported the image of a saint. These serve to
point out the position of the side altars. The bracket in the north
aisle consists of a female head, and is placed about eight feet from
the ground. It is said that this great height was occasionally
adopted when the image was of unusual value or beautiful work-
manship, in order to preserve it from the too fond reverence of
the worshippers. The doorway to the rood-loft staircase, though
now blocked up, can be plainly discerned through the plaster in
the south-east angle of this aisle. The rood-screen itself, which
separates the nave from the chancel, is very perfect, and is a
really beautiful specimen of the carved woodwork of the Perpendi-
cular style. It is said to have been erected by Thomas Babington.
Over the doorway of the screen, facing the west, is a shield bearing
the arms of Babington — argent, ten torteaux, four, three, two, one,
yules ; a label of three points, azure — impaling the arms of Fitz-
herbert : — argent, a chief, countervail, over all a bend, sable. On the
other side is a shield, with the Babington arms impaling — Between
two bars, three fusils. t This rood-screen bore a good deal of the

* This font has attracted considerable attention from archaeologists. Special
mention is made of it in the treatises relative to fonts by Gough, Simpson, and
others. It is engraved in the second volume of the Topographer lor the year 1790,
where an unfulfilled promise is made of a further notice of the church at Ashover.
The following is, we believe, a complete list of the leaden fonts to be found in
Kiiplaiid: — Ashover, Derby; Barnetby, Lincoln; Avebury, and Churton, "Wilts;
\\oulston, Childrey, Long Whelliugton, and Clewer, Berks ; Clifton, Warborough,
and Dorchester, Oxford; Brundall, and Great Plumstead, Norfolk; Wareham,
Dorset; Brooklaud, Kent; Pitcombe, Somerset; Siston, Cambridge; Tidenham,
Gloucester; Walmsford, Northampton ; Walton, Surrey ; and Pyecornbe, Sussex.

t It is rather humiliating to have to confess to failure in all our attempts to satis-

;ly identify this coat, but we find some consolation in the failure of others.

Dr. Pegge (Vol. 5., p. 95) erroneously reads it as " three fusils in fesse,'' and then

ASHOVEli. '-1

original gilding and painting, until it was unfortunately cleansed
at the repairing of the church in 1843. At the same time the
rood staircase, with its two doorways, was blocked up, and a
hagioscope, or squint, that opened out of the east end of the south
aisle, was treated in a similar fashion. The reason for these
barbarities it is difficult to conjecture. It is worthy also of note,
that up to that date, several funeral garlands were to be seen sus-
pended from the screen. The beautiful old custom of carrying
garlands before the corpses of unmarried females, which were
afterwards suspended in the church, lasted longer in Derbyshire
than in any other part of the country. Five of these garlands
may still be seen in the church of Ashford-in-the- Water, and one
at South Winfield.* An interesting description of this custom is
given in the first volume of the Reliquary.

In the north wall of the chancel are two shallow recesses,
formed by ogee- shaped arches, about six feet in width, and five
in height. It is not usual to find two of these recesses. One or
both of these were made use of iu the pre-reformation days on
Good Friday, when the crucifix, or a figure of our Lord, was
placed under the Sepulchre arch, where it remained continually
watched until Easter Day. From the centre of each of these
arched recesses a bracket, eighteen inches in length, projects some
six inches. These doubtless played some part in the ceremony, or
may have served as supports for small sculptures connected with
our Lord's burial. We have not elsewhere observed any instances

conjectures that it belonged to Montague. Search has been specially made for us
through all the alliances of the families of Babington and Fitzherbert by a gentleman
of high attainments in heraldic lore, but hitherto without success. That eminent
local genealogist, the late Mr. William Swift, of Sheffield, wrote to us in February,
1872, — " In conjunction with a friend equally interested with myself in these studies,
I have tried to discover the name of the family bearing the fusils in f ess impaled with
Babington referred to in the Notes on Ashover Church. We did not succeed, and,
not during to succumb to such a failure, I thereupon wrote to one of the officers in
the College at Bennet's Hill, giving him such a cue as might possibly have enabled
him to answer me, but he, too, is silent up to the time of my writing. The fact is, not
much reliance can be placed on the impalements or quarterings of the Babington's, who
were fond of heraldic display, and indeed they had some grounds for such attachment.
But they did not confine themselves to the strict rules of heraldry. The arms quoted
have long ago appeared in print by this description — ' Two wooden escutcheons, one
Babington impaling Fitzherbert, the other Babington impaling three fusils conjoined
in fess between two pair of gemelles.' The coat undoubtedly belonged to Fitzherbert,
but there is, as I just hinted, this great difficulty in Babington's heraldry, ' an im-
paled coat of the date of Henry VIII. is just as likely to bo that of the wife's female an-
as of the wife herself. The practice was carried even further, for example — the
- of Loiigvillers married Mallovel — the heiress of Mallovel married Stanhope —
and the heiress of Stanhope married Babington. At Dethick Babington is made to
impale Longvillers.' And so the coat in question most probably belongs to some
ancestor of the mother of Edith Babington, nee Fitzherbert, who was a Marshall, of
Upton, co. Leicester." Mr. Swift here quotes from Nichols' Collectanea Topo-
(jraphica ct Gencalogica, vol. viii. p. 330. At vol. ii. p. 99, of the same work reference
is also made to this coat, there described as " Babington impaling three fusils in fess
between two bars (an unknown coat)."

* See Notes on South Wiufield.

22 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

of brackets thus situated, and another conjecture occurs to us, ^^z.,
that they may have been used to hold the lights or lamps for the
sepulchre. In Cromwell's injunction, in the year 1538, we read,
' ' The clergy were not to suffer any candles or tapers to be set
before any image, but only the light by the rood-loft, the light
before the Sacrament of the Altar, and the light about the sepulchre ;
these were allowed to stand for ornamenting the church, and the
solemnity of divine service."*

Between these two archways is a doorway leading into a small
vestry of later date than the rest of the chancel. There is also a
doorway on the south side. About three feet from the east end of
the chancel, on the same side, there projects, from the face of the
wall, the basin of a small piscina. There is no niche in the wall
over it, or behind it, and from this circumstance, as well as the
flutings with which it is carved, we are inclined to think that this
is a piscina of late Norman date, and coeval with the font.
Norman piscinas are, however, of such rare occurrence, that we only -
offer this as a conjecture, in the hope that it may attract the
attention of archaeologists who may in future visit this church.

The monumental remains are of much interest. At the east end
of the chancel, within the communion rails, are two good brasses.
The one on the North side is supposed by Glover to represent one
" Robert Eyre, a friar." The figure of the priest is all that is
now left, though the large sized slab, in which it is inserted, bears
traces round the margin of a lengthy inscription, as well as shields
of arms or other emblems on each side of and above the head.
Owing to the minuteness with which brasses were finished, and the
close attention paid by the artist to the prevailing costume, it is
usually an easy matter to decide within a year or two the date of
any brass to the memory of a knight or civilian ; but, in the case
of ecclesiastics, so little variation was made in their costume, that
an approximation to the date is all that can usually be given.
This brass appears to have been executed about the conclusion of
the fifteenth century. The figure is clad in eucharistic vestments.
Round the neck is the richly embroidered collar of the amice
showing above the chasuble which rests in ample folds on the arms.
The chasuble has also a highly ornamented border. Below the
chasuble is seen the inner vestment or alb descending to the feet.
In front, at the foot, it is ornamented with a square of embroidery,
called orphreywork, but the tight-fitting sleeves which appear fiom

•Collier's Church History, vol. 2, p. 250.

ASHOVER. 23

under the folds of the chasuble are plain. From between the
chasuble and alb are seen the fringed ends of the stole, which is
elegantly worked, whilst a maniple of the same pattern is worn
depending from the left wrist. The hands are joined together on
the breast, and the head is uncovered, displaying the tonsure or
shaven crown of the clergy.

Bassano's church notes confirm the suggestion of Glover as to
the surname of this ecclesiastic, for a portion of the inscription
then (1710) existed: — " ye stone hath beene laid round with brass,
but ye greatest part of it is rent off ; on what remains is inscribed
'Hie jacet Philippus Eyre, Capellanus, quondam Eector hujus
ecclesia?, et filius Koberti Eyre, qui obiit decimo die meusis
Jauuarii.' " The shield to the right hand bore, on a chevron four
quatrefoils (Eyre), and that to the left " three pillars." Between
the shields was a chalice with the letters IHS "upon a globe
issuing out of it," as Bassano styles it ; the " globe " being doubt-
less intended for the eucharistic wafer.

After much research among the pedigrees of the widely-branching
family of Eyre, we think we may safely conclude that we have
identified the priest whom this monument commemorates. Eobert
Eyre, of Padley, married Joan, the heiress of the family of Padley,
and had by her a large family. One pedigree represents it as
fifteen in number, and another as thirteen. They certainly had
ten sons, Eobert, Nicholas, Hugh, Eoger, Philip, Richard, Henry,
Ealph, Edward, and Stephen, and three daughters, Joan, Elizabeth,
and Margaret.* This brass is to the memory of Philip, the fifth
sou, and the arms read by Bassano as "three pillars " must be
the maternal coat of Padley — Arg., three pairs of barnacles, Sa. —
which, if represented as nearly closed, might easily be considered
to resemble pillars. f We do not know the exact date of the
rectorship of Philip Eyre, but it was about the close of the
fifteenth century. John Eeresby was rector of Ashover in 1510,
when he stood as godfather to one of the Foljambes.

On the opposite side of the chancel is a well-preserved brass to
the memory of James Eolleston, of Lea, and his wife Anna, the
daughter of John Babington, of Dethick. The inscription, which
runs round the margin of the stone, is to the following effect : —

*Harl. MSS. 1093, and 1486. There are also pedigrees of Eyre amongst the
WoUey, Mitchell, and Hunter MSS.

t The shield with the "three pillars " was on the slab in Dr. Pegge's days. He
does not attempt to describe it, but gives a rough sketch, which confirms us in the
supposition that it was intended for the arms of Padley. Pegge's Collections, vol. o.,
p. 95.

24: DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

" Hie jaceiit Jacobus Rolleston de le ley amdger, et Anna uxor
ejus, filia Johaunis Babyngtou de Dedyck, armigeri, qui quidam
Jacobus Eollestou obiit . . . die inensis . . . Anno Dili
Millessimo 5*° . . . et predicta Anna obiit quinto deciuio die
Februarii Anno Dili Millessimo 5*° vii, quorum aniuiabus propicietur
Deus. Amen." The spaces here left for the day, month, and
year of the husband's decease, show that this tomb was erected
during the lifetime of James Eolleston to his own memory and
that of his wife. This was not an unusual custom, and it is curious
that there are very numerous instances extant in which the
descendants, as in this case, neglected to fill up the vacant spaces
when death had taken place. The centre of the stone is occupied
with brass effigies of the knight and his lady, whilst below them
are the representations of their nine daughters and four sous. At
the four corners are the cavities or matrices where escutcheons
were originally placed ; but these have all disappeared. The
effigies merit a word or two of description, as they are good
examples of the armour and dress of the period. The knight is
clad in plate armour, but with his head and hands uncovered. The
upper part of the body is protected by a cuirass. From the
pauldrons, or shoulder-pieces, rise passe-gardes for the defence of the
neck. To the bottom of the cuirass are buckled long pointed
tuilettes for the protection of the thighs, whilst behind them appears
a skirt of mail. The feet are clad in the round-toed clumsy
sabbatons, a great contrast to the pointed sollerets to which they
immediately succeeded. All these particulars are eminently cha-
racteristic of the armour of the first few years of the sixteenth
century, and it is somewhat strange to find that the sword, though
girded at the left side, falls across the front of the left leg, instead
of crossing behind the legs as was customary at this period. The
cross haft of the dagger also appears below the right elbow. The
lady is dressed in a long flowing robe with tight sleeves, which
fits closely to the figure above the waist. It is confined at the
waist by a broad ornamented belt, with a long pendant, and
reaching almost to the feet. She wears the angular head-dress
that prevailed in the latter part of the reign of Henry VII. and
for several subsequent years. It is pointed stiffly over the forehead,
and descends in embroidered lappets over the shoulders and back.
It was usually made of velvet. The nine girls below their mother
are faithful miniatures of her appearance, but the boys are dressed
in long plain tunics.

ASHOVER. 25

The pedigrees* only furnish the names of the four sons and
one of the daughters. Kalph, who married Margaret, daughter
and heiress of Eichard Bingharu ; Thomas, who married Elizabeth
(or Agnes, as one authority has it), daughter and heiress of John
Turvile, of Newhall; Henry; William " clericus ;" and Matilda, who
married Eaiph Blackwell. Probably the other daughters died
spinsters, or in their infancy.

The family of Eollcstou came from Eolleston in Staffordshire.
In the fourteenth century, a younger son of Sir Ealph Eolleston
purchased the manor of Lea from the Frechevilles. Shortly after-
wards, William Eolleston married a daughter of Eoger de Wynfield,
of Edelstow Hall ; and by this alliance his great grandson, the James
Eolleston of the monument, eventually became also entitled to the Old-
Hall Manor, one of the four manors into which, as we have already
stated, Ashover was divided. The two manors of Lea and Old-Hall
ivmaiued in the family till the latter end of the reign of Queen
Elizabeth, when this branch of the Eollestons became extinct, and
the estates passed to the Pershalls of Horsley, Stafford.

The date of the death of James Eolleston is not known, but he
was a witness to the will of Thomas Babington in 1518.

We have reason to believe that this monument was removed to
the chancel from the north aisle during certain alterations, which
were made about the year 1798. From the interesting details given
of this church about the commencement of the last century by Bas-
sauo, and from an account by another hand of about the same date,
preserved amongst the Wolley MSS., it appears that the east
end of the north aisle was railed off from the rest of the church,
and was styled the Eolleston quire. Here were the various monu-
ments to that family, of which the one we have described alone
remains. One of these was " a marble stone, on which a peece of
brass with an image, at whose head hath laine a peece of brass
forme of a shield." Another was a large alabaster stone, bearing
the portraiture of a man and his wife, and at their feet the follow-
ing inscription : — " Hie jacent corpora Francisci Eolleston armigeri
et Marie uxoris ejus, filie Johis Veruon militis, qui paldictus
Franciscus obiit iii die Augusti Anno Dni 1587. Et predicta Maria
obiit . . . die . . . "

The Francis Rolleston commemorated by this slab would be the
son of Thomas Rollestou and Agnes Turvile, and grandson of James
Rolleston, whose monument is in the chancel. He married Maria,

» Harl. MSS. 6592 and 1093.

26 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

daughter of Sir John Vernou, and they had issue "George Eolles-
tou de la ley, pensioner to Queene Elizaheth."

Besides the Kolleston monuments there was also in this aisle
another alabaster slah to the memory of Thomas Bahiugton and
his wife Isabella. Thomas Babington, the son and heir of Sir John
de Babington, of East Bridgeford, Notts., married Isabel, daughter
and coheir of Eobert Dethick, of Dethick, in the parish of A^hover.
In his youth he sold his family estates to his brother, Sir William,
who was Chief Justice of the King's Bench, in order to leave him-
self more free to engage in the wars against France. It is said
that the sword and bow which he bore at Agincourt were long
preserved at Dethick. The family chapel at Dethick had no rights
of sepulture attached to it, and hence it came to pass that lie and
his descendants, as lords of Dethick, were buried in their parish
church of Ashover. Thomas and Isabella had issue two sons, the
eldest of whom, Sir John Babington, married Isabella, daughter of
Henry Bradburne, of Bradburne and the Hough. A window to his
memory is noted under the account of Staveley Church, and there
is a tomb to his wife at Ratcliff-on-Soar. They had issue two sous
and six daughters, one of whom, Anna, has already been mentioned
as the wife of James Rolleston. The eldest son was Tbonias
Babington, of whom more anon.

At the east end of the south aisle was the " Babington Quire,"
enclosed by handsomely-carved screen-work, in the which were two
doors, provided with lock and key, one from the south aisle, and
one from the body of the church. Over the former of these doors
were the arms of Babington impaling the unknown coat now on
the screen, and over the latter Babington impaling Fitzherbert.
The partition forming this quire has long ago been destroyed, but
these two escutcheons were preserved and hung against one of the
pillars which divides the south aisle from the nave. But in 1843
they were placed upon the rood-screen, which has been already
described. The year before this restoration G. T. C. writes : —
" The Babington chantry occupied the eastern bay of the south
aisle, and enough of the wooden screen remains to show that it
resembled the Babington pew, of about the same date, in the north
aisle at Eothley." * This quire, or chapel, was founded in 1511, by
Thomas Babington, when he also erected the rood-screen and the
singing gallery over it, the endowment of which was valued in 1547

•Nichols' Collectanea Topographica et Genealogica, vol. viii., p. 330.

ASHOVEK. 27

at £5 Os. 4d. per annum. The following is a verbatim copy of the
description of this chapel in the Chantry Roll : — " The Chauntry of
Babington founded by Thos. Babyugtoii, Esq., for a prieste to synge
e within the paryshe church and to pray for his soule, etc., by
foundacyon dated Ao. Dui. Md. xi and by the kyngs lycense Ao.
iijo. liegis nunc cjs. iiijc?. clere iiij It xvijs. vj. besyds viij li. xxrf.
payd in rents resolute to Thomas Babyngton esq., for the wagis of
a priste at Dethecke iiij li. for the price of breade and herryngs
pyveii to everye householder there vj Sondayes in Lente everye of
them j(/ arid lykewyse on Good Frydaye and S. Valentynes days to
everye one of them ob. eyther of the dayes ; about his obitte yerlie,
and S. Yaleutyiies daye to priests and clerkes vs. Eich. Sewdall
Chauntrye prist. It hath a mancyon prised at ijs. by yere. Stocke
iiij //. xixs. viijc/."

Thomas Babington, on the death of his wife Editha, erected a

:ificent monument to the joint memories of himself and his

wife, within this chantry. Editha was the daughter of Ealph

Fitzherbert of Norbury, by Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir of John

Marshall of Upton, Leicestershire, and sister of Sir Anthony Fitz-

rt, the celebrated judge. This monument still remains, and

consists of a table monument of alabaster, supporting two elaborately

carved effigies.

The east end, or foot, of this monument has been most barbarously
built into the wall, and it is very difficult to examine some of its
details from the strange way in which it is boxed up by the sur-
rounding pews. It is now almost impossible to trace a word of
the inscription which formerly ran round the margin. The man's
head is uncovered, and he has straight hair. The head rests on
a pillow, supported at each side by a small figure of an angel.
He is clad in a long plaited gown down to his feet ; round the
\a a double chain composed of plain square links. On the
right hand side is attached to his girdle a gypciere or purse, which
was usually worn by civilians of that period. His hands are folded
on his breast, and each fourth finger is adorned with a ring, whilst
the feet rest on an animal of which it is hard to say whether it is
intended to represent a lion or a dog — probably the former. The
lady is clad in a close-fitting robe, fastened at the neck by tas-
selled cords, which are curiously twisted over the front of the figure.
On the head is the angular head-dress with pendant lappets. She
has a ring on the fourth finger of the left hand, and another on
the little finger of the right. These effigies are both painted all

28 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

over, with the exception of the hands and faces, in dull colours —
red and green predominating. This colouring is evidently not quite
modern, hut it is equally evident that the pigments are vastly
different from those which must have heen originally used. The
three sides of this monument, that are to some degree exposed, are
beautifully carved with rich crocketed canopies, beneath which
stand numerous small figures representing the fifteen children of
Thomas and Editha Babingtou, and their respective marriages.
On the south side there are six of these canopies ; beneath each
of the end ones are three figures, and the four others cover
two apiece. At the head there are two single figures, and a double
one in the centre, and these are flanked on each side by an angel
bearing an uncharged shield. On the north side there are again
two canopies, one covering three figures, and the remainder two
apiece. All the female figures are clothed alike and adorned with
chains and jewels. The males have for the most part pouches on
their right side, and shields in their left hands, but one is in
armour of mail, with a surcoat over it, and on his breast a cross
Henry. This must be intended to represent the second son. The
following is a list of the fifteen children and their marriages : —

1. — Sir Anthony Babington. He had two wives, the first being
Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir of John Orniund, of Alfreton (she
died in 1505), and the second Catherine, daughter of Sir John
Ferrers, of Walton and Tamworth. He died in 1544, aged 69.

2. — John B. Knight of Ehodes, in which Order he held various
important offices, the last being that of Grand Prior of Ireland, to
which he was appointed in 1527. There was formerly a slab in

the south aisle of Ashover, inscribed "John Babington 15 "

This we may safely assume to have been his tomb.*

3. — Balph B. He was rector of Hiutlesham, Suffolk, and sub-
sequently of Hickling, Notts. He took the degree of LL.D. at
Cambridge in 1503, and died in 1521. He was buried in the
chancel at Hickling.

4. — Bowlaud B., otherwise called Richard. He settled at Nor-
manton, near Derby, and married Jane Eidge, of Kinway. He died
in 1548, and was buried at St. Peter's, Derby.

5. — Humphrey B. He settled at Temple Eothley, in Leicester -

* Nichols thinks that this slab could not have heen to his memory, as his duties
as a Preceptor would have been likely to have kept him abroad; but Nichols was
apparently not aware of the different offices held by John Babington, nor of the
duties and obligations pertaining to them. See Porter's History of the KnigJits of
Malta.

ASHOVER. 29

shire, and married Eleanor, third daughter and co-heir of John
Beaumont, of Wednesbury, Stafford. He died in 1544.

6. — Thomas B. He was rector of Yelvertoft, and died at
Cambridge in 1511.

7. — "William B. He married Joan, the eldest daughter and co-
heir of the above-mentioned John Beaumont; and secondly, Mary,
daughter of John More.

8. — Robert B. He died in the Temple, London, and is there
buried .

9. — George B. died in infancy.

10. — Elizabeth B. died in infancy.

11. — Anne B. She married, first, George Leche, of Chatsworth,
and secondly, Eoger Greenhaugh, of Teversall, Notts., who was
also lord of the manor of Kowthorn, in the parish of Ault Huck-
nall. She died in 1538, and is buried at Teversall.

12. — Catherine B. She married George Chaworth, of Winerton,
Notts.

13. — Dorothy B. She married Eobert Eolleston, of Swarkestone.
(The Rollestons of Lea and of Swarkestone were the same family.')

14. — Jane B. She married George Meverell, of Throwley, Staf-
fordshire.

15. — Elizabeth B. She married Philip Okeover, of Okeover,
Staffordshire.

Thomas Babington died on the 13th March, 1518, so that we
know that this tomb was erected prior to that date, though the
exact year of the death of Editha has not been ascertained. By his
will, of the month previous to his decease, Thomas Babington
directs that his wife's tomb be not broken on his account, but that
he be laid by its side. This injunction accounts for the existence
of a separate memorial to him. Against the wall, immediately
above the foot of this monument, is a slab of dark marble, worked
at the top into a kind of canopy of foliage, and in the centre of
this slab is fixed a small oblong brass with the following inscrip-
tion:— "Here lyeth Thomas Babyngton, of Dethick, Esq., son
of John, son & heyre to Thomas Babyngton, and Isabella hys
wife, daughter and heyre to Robert Dethick, Esq., whych Thomas
deceysed the 13th day of March, 1518. On whose souls Jhu
have mercy." This inscription is rather vaguely expressed, and
has caused Glover to jump to the ludicrous conclusion, that the
Thomas Babington, whose tomb we have been describing, was
married to Isabella Dethick as his first wife. So far from this

30 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

being the case, Isabella was his grandmother ! There can be no
doubt that this brass is not in its original position, as mural
brasses were then unknown. It is also palpable that it has not
originally been connected with the slab on which it is now found.
This slab is covered with a thick coating of white plaster, and upon it,
for the information of those who could not decypher the black-
letter brass in its centre, has been painted in sprawling letters, a
transcript of the inscription ! The effect is at once incongruous
and ridiculous. The notes taken at the beginning of the last
century come to our aid. Bassano describes this slab as "a
stone in the waU, which hath contained in it a large piece of brass,
which was rend off & stole away in ye time of ye Grand Rebellion."
And Mr. Wolley, writing just at the close of the same century,
says, that it formerly had a piece of brass fixed to it, nearly
three-quarters of a yard in length and two feet in breadth, but
that it then bore no plate of any description. But on the pave-
ment, close to the south side of the large monument, there was
formerly a brass "representing the figure of death," i.e., a skeleton
brass, and at its feet another brass with the inscription relative
to Thomas Babington, already quoted, and which is now affixed
to the slab on the wall. The skeleton brass had disappeared before
Mr. Wolley wrote (1798), and the brass with the inscription having
by accident been broken, "a gentleman of the parish, 'mindful of
the honoured dead,' wishing to have it properly secured, caused the
plate to be taken up for that purpose, when, much to his surprise,
the following inscription was found engraved in the same kind of
church-text on the under side of it : —

' Hie jacet Eobertus Prykke arrnig. quondam serviens Pantrie
dne Margarete regina Anglie, Tothes (sic) Eobtus et Margarete
liberi sui, qui quidem Eobtus pater obiit xxiij die mense Maii,
A° Dni Mcccc0 L° quorum aniniabus propici^tur Deus. Amen.'
It, perhaps, may be proper to observe that neither this Eobert
Prykke (Serjeant of the Pantry to Queen Margaret), nor any
other persons of his name are known to have had any connec-
tion with the parish of Ashover ; neither does the name, to the
best of my knowledge, occur in any ancient records relating
to the place, or as witnesses to any deeds or conveyances of
property in the neighbourhood. It is, therefore, presumed that
this inscription was either engraved by the direction of some of
Prykke's friends, or on account of its not being paid for, never
delivered ; or otherwise, that the engraver, employed by the exe-

ASHOVER. 3 1

cutors of Thomas Babington, being in want of such a piece of
brass, took the liberty of borrowing this from ^some neighbouring
church."* It is thus evident that this palimpsest brass to the
memory of Thomas Babington was placed upon the slab against
the east wall of the south aisle (in the place of a former unknown
inscription) some time subsequent to this description of Mr. Wolley's.

It now remains to notice another class of memorials, which were
specially abundant and interesting in this church so late as 1710,
but which have since been ruthlessly destroyed — we allude to the
heraldic glass in the windows. There was just a small trace of
one or two escutcheons remaining before the last " restoration " in
1843, but since that time they have completely disappeared. But,
before describing them, we will revert for a moment to the family
history of the Babingtous, as it will be found explanatory of much
of the blazonry. Sir Anthony Babiugton, the eldest son of the
Babingtons whose monuments we have just been considering,
married twice. His first wife, Elizabeth Ormond, was connected
with a great number of ancient families, and was rightly entitled
to a considerable amount of heraldic display. Robert de Chaworth,
of an old Welsh family, married, in the reign of Henry I., the
sister and heir of William de Waterville. Their grandson, William
de Chaworth, married Alice, daughter and co-heir of Eobert de
Alfreton, who was the grandson of Eobert Fitz Ranulph, of Alfreton
and Norton, and founder of Beauchief Abbey. Sir William Chaworth,
sixth in descent from this match, married, in 1398, Alice, daughter
and hen: of Sir John Caltoft, by Katharine, daughter and heir of
Sir John le Bret. Caltoft represented Bassingbourne and Bisset ;
Bret represented Heriz of Wyverton, the elder coheir of Barons
Basset of Dray ton, Riddel, and Bussy of Weldon. Thomas, son of
Sir William Chaworth, was twice married, his second wife being
Isabel, daughter and coheir of Thomas de Aylesbury, by Katherine,
daughter and heir of Sir Lawrence Pabenham. Aylesbury repre-
sented Keynes, a coheir of the Barons Basset of Weldon, Riddel,
and Bussy of Weldon, whilst Pabenham represented a coheir of
the Barons Engaine, Montgomery, and Grey.

William Chaworth, son of Thomas, married Elizabeth, daughter

* Palimpsest brasses, i.e., brasses engraved on both sides, have been noted in
numerous instances since the days of Mr. Wolley. A third and more honourable
supposition with respect to this brass is, that the executors of Eobert Prykke, or the
eiiui;tver himself, were dissatisfied with the inscription from some flaw or omission,
and had another executed, leaving this to be utilised on some subsequent occasion.
On the general subject of palimpsest brasses, see Boutell's Monumental Brasses,
pp. 147-154, and Haines' Manual of Monumental Brasses. Vol. ii., pp. 45-."il

32 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

and coheir of Sir Nicholas Bowet of Repinghall, who represented
Zouch of Harringwprth.

Of the issue of this marriage, the son, Thomas, died without
offspring, and his sister and heir, Joan, married John Orrnond, the
brass to whose memory is described in the notes on the church at
Alfreton.

By this marriage there were three daughters and coheirs, one of
whom, Elizabeth, became the wife of Sir Anthony Babington.* She
died on the 28th November, 1505, and is buried in Katcliffe Church,
where there is an alabaster slab to her memory.

Sir Anthony Babington married for his second wife, Katheriue,
daughter of Sir John Ferrers, but, as the armorial bearings relative
to this match and its numerous alliances are to be found chiefly
at the chapel at Kingston, Notts., it would be foreign to our
purpose to give any genealogical details.

In the middle pane of the south window of Babington's quire
was Babington and Dethick (arg., a fess vaire, or and gu., between
three water bougets, sa.) quarterly, impaling Fitzherbert of Norbury
and Marshall of Upton (Barry of six, arg. and sa., a canton,
erm.) quarterly.

In another pane of the same window was Babington, Dethick,
and another coat undiscernible, quarterly, impaling quarterly of
fifteen : —

1. Or, a chief, gu. (Ormond).

2. Barry of eight pieces, arg. and gu., three martlets, sa., (Cha-

worth.)

3. Az., two chevrons, or (Alfreton).
4 Arg., eight mullets pierced, sa.

5. Gu., a fess between ten billets, or (Bret).

6. Az., a frette, or. (Maudevile ?).

7. Arg., a bend vaire, az. and gu.

8. Arg., two lions segreant, gu.

9. Gu., a fess between six cross crosslets, or, three, two, one.

(Engaine).

10. Vaire, three bars, gu. (Keynes).

11. Paly, or and gu. (Grey).

12. Az., a cross, arg. (Aylesbury).

13. Gu., ten bezants, a canton, ei-m. (Zouch of Harringworth).

* This skeleton pedigree, showing the various families that were absorbed into the
immediate ancestors of Lady Elizabeth Babington will be found of frequent service
throughout these pages.— Nichols' Collectanea, vol vii., p. 257: vol. viii.. p. 339.
Harl. MSS. 154, 246, 1400, etc ; Add. MSS. 6667, and 6707.

ASHOVER. 33

14. Arg., three fusils in fess, each charged with a bezant.

15 *

It is obvious, then, that this window was inserted by Sir Anthony
Babington in commemoration of his first marriage with Elizabeth
Ormond. We have appended to the coats the names of the families
to which they belonged, so far as we have been able to trace them.
Numbers 4, 6, 7, 8, and 14 do not belong, as we might have
expected, immediately to the families of Riddel, Basset, Heriz, &c.,
all of whose bearings have been consulted, though they are sure to
be in some way connected with some of the very numerous alliances
of the Ormonds or Babingtons.

In another window of the south aisle, but outside the Babiugton
quire, was Babington impaling gu., seven mascles, 3, 2, 1, or
(Ferrers), commemorating Sir Anthony's second marriage ; and the
same coat also appeared in one of the clerestory windows on the
south side.

The clerestory windows must have been all treated as memorials
to this family and its numerous alliances. Bassano notes in one
of them the words " George Leeche . . . Babynton . . .
wyfe;" and in another, the names and escutcheons of Philip
Okeover, or his wife, Elizabeth Babingtou. These memorials to two
of the sisters of Sir Anthony are to be taken simply as such, and
not implying the burial of the persons named at Ashover; for
Anne Babington, as has been already stated, was buried with her
second husband at Teversall, and George Leeche, who died in
1505, at Edensor.

A clerestory window on the north side bore, in one pane, a
quartered coat, 1st and 4th arg., a cinquefoil, az., on a chief,
gu., a lion passant guardant, or (Bolleston) ; 2nd and 3rd vert, on
a bend, arg., three crosses flory, sa. (Winfield); impaling or, three
chevron ells, vaire (Turvile). The ancient connection between the
Rollestons and Wiufields has been already given, and it further
appears that the mother of James Rollestou, of the Lea, was Jane,
daughter and heir of Rafe Winfield, of Ashover.f

The marriage between Thomas Rolleston and Elizabeth Turvile
has also been noticed, which is commemorated by this coat. The

* These fifteen quarterings are copied from Bassano; the account in Add. MSS.
6667 varies very slightly, except in number 8, which there reads, Argent, a lion ram-
pant, gules. In Nichols' description of Ashover Church, based upon these two
accounts, there are two blunders in the transcript of these coats, viz., in number 2,
where for ''mullets" read "martlets," aud in number 4, where for •' three " read
" eight." — Nichols' Collectanea, vol. ii., p. 100.

f Nichols' Collectanea, vol. viii., p. 326.

34 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Visitations give seven generations of this old family previous to its
becoming absorbed in that of Eolleston. In the middle pane of
the same window was the quartered coat of Eolleston and Winfield
impaling Babington, and in the third pane the quartered coat by

itself, under it — " Ora statu Thoma3 ejus ac paren

" This inscription makes it possible that Thomas Eolles-
ton, as well as his son Francis and his father James, obtained
burial in the church at Ashover.

The east window of the north aisle, in the Eolleston quire, also
contained several coats. In the middle pane was quarterly, 1st
and 4th, an., on a bend, arg., three cross crosslets fitchee, sa.
(Eeresby) ; 2nd, Barry, gu. and arg., a canton, erm. ;* 3rd, gu.,
three goats, arg. (Gotham.) In another pane was Rolleston.
Margaret Babington, one of the daughters of Thomas, son and heir
of Sir Anthony Babington, married Thomas Eeresby, of Thribergh,
Yorkshire, and of Eastwood Old Hall, in Ashover. Thomas was
the son and heir of Eobert Eeresby, by Anne, daughter of Eobert
Swift. The family of Eeresby possessed Eastwood Old Hall in
the reign of Henry III., and sold it in the time of James I.

The east window of the chancel contained, according to Bassano,

this inscription — "Brian Eood hujus Sector hanc novam

fabricam fieri fecit;" according to another account, ". . . . Eoos
rector hujus ecclesia? hanc novam fabricam fieri fecit."

Judging from the extensive remains of painted glass that existed
here one hundred and fifty years ago, it is probable that All Saints,
at Ashover, was unsurpassed by any church of the county in the
beauty and interest of its windows. The removal and defacing of
all images, ordered by Edward VI., in 1548, was interpreted to
mean the destruction of all the figures of saints in the windows ;
but many images both of glass and stone escaped or were replaced,
until the year 1643, when Parliament, by an Ordinance " for the
utter demolishing, removing, and taking away of all monuments
of superstition or idolatry," completed the work. But special ex-
emptions were made, " that this Ordinance shall not extend to any
Image, Picture, or Coate of Arms in Glass, Stone, or otherwise, in

* This second quartering we give in the text in the exact words of Bassano. But,
as an instance of the capricious and uncertain phraseology of heraldic descriptions
of those days, it may he noted that the same coat on a pew is described by Bassano
as — " Barry of 30 pieces in a canton 3 fusils," and in the Add. MSS. it reads — " Barry
of six canton verry," and on the pew, " Barry of four pieces in a canton three
fusils." Probably Nichols is right in rendering ii—'^ Arg., three pair of gemelles,
Gu., on a canton, Gu., three fusils conjoined in fess." All are equally at a loss as to
what family the coat pertained, but it is explained on a subsequent page.

ASH OVER. 35

any Church, Chappell, &c., set up or graven ouely for a monument
of any King, Prince, or Nobleman, or other dead person which
hath not been commonly reputed or taken for a Saint ; but that
all such Images, Pictures, and Coates of Armes may stand and con-
tinue in like manner and forme as if this Ordinance had never
been made."* It is not unlikely that the glory of the Ashover
windows remained till this latter date, for, from the hint of
Bassano, we know that it was visited and despoiled of some of
its brasses at the time of " ye Grand Rebellion," and, in the
destruction of the images on glass, much of the heraldry would
also suffer. And now the indifference and ignorance of subsequent
"improvers" have swept away even the last vestige of these speak-
ing relics of the past.

The church underwent some extensive repairs in 1799, and Mr.
Wolley, writing at the time, says — " It will give you pleasure to
be informed that the gravestones, painted glass in the windows,
and the carved arms on the pew doors, will all be carefully pre-
served and replaced." But so far as the painted glass was con-
cerned, this good intention does not appear to have been carried
out, for several years previous to the restoration of 1843, another
visitor could only find a single mutilated coat of Dethick. This
latter visitor says t — "The nave and aisles are heavily pewed with
oak, and the names of the proprietors, according to the custom of
the country, are carved upon the pew doors." This is another
custom of which but very few traces remain in Derbyshire, and
which subsequent alterations have almost destroyed at Ashover.
The Eeresbys, in whose family the advowson of the church long
rested, naturally had their pews in the chancel, and on one of
these were the initials T. E., M. E., and Eeresby impaling Babing-
ton. On another pew was a quartering, 1st, Eeresby, 2nd, arg.,
three pair of gemelles, gu., on a canton, gu., three fusils con-
joined in fess ; 3rd, arg. on a fess double cotised, gu., three fleurs-
de-lis, or (Normanvile) ; 4th, gu. three goats, arg. (Gotham).
Over the coat the crest of a goat passant, and on another part
of the same pew the word " Eeresbie." These quarterings may
be thus explained from the pedigree of the Eeresby family given
in the Yorkshire Visitations. Ealph Eerssby married Margaret,
daughter and hen-ess of Ealph Normanvile, and their great-grand-
son Thomas Eeresby married Cecilia, daughter and co-heiress of

* "A Collection of all the Publicte Ordinances from 1642 untill 1646," p. 308.
t G. T. C. of Nichols' Collectanea.

36 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Richard Gotham, of Gotham. The second coat of this quartering
was also borne by Normanvile at the time of the alliance above
named, and it formerly appeared with the Reresby quarterings in
the church windows of Chesterfield, Hope, and Rotherham.*

One other family memorial in the nave deserves notice. It is a
mural monument to the memory of the Dakeyn family, and is
placed over the last arch on the north side. It consists of a plain
black coloured stone with the following inscription in white letters :

" Gulielm Dakeyn. Norroy. Pater Richardi nat. Hartingt Sepult
London, obit. 1530. Oct. 19." Here the stone is divided as though
the upper portion had been part of an older monument, and then
follow the words, Stubbin Edge, and the names of four other Da-
keyns, viz: — Richard, 1581, aged 81; Arthur, 1632, aged 59;
Henry, 1671, aged 57 ; and Arthur, 1720, aged 77. On looking
at this monument it is at once apparent that the upper portion is
several years later than the date 1530. The reason that causes
us to draw atention to it is the untruth which it commemorates.
" Norroy " (or king of the north) was tho title of the third king-
at-arrns of the Herald's College, and he had the same jurisdiction
north of the Trent which "Clarencieux" had on the south. It
does not, however, appear that William Dakeyn ever was Norroy
King-at-arms, and it is most likely that this was a forgery of his
grandson, William Dakeyn, in order to give more authority to his
various inventions. William Dakeyn was apprehended by warrant
from the Earl of Essex, Earl Marshall, on 31st December, 1597,
for issuing false pedigrees and grants of arms " under hand and seal
of Clarencieux. "t He had previously been condemned to the pillory
and loss of one ear for a similar offence, but on this occasion he
was treated more leniently, for he was let off upon giving security,
and making a full confession of his various forgeries, which are
still preserved in a volume at the College of Arms.

The tower contains a peal of five bells. The following are their
inscriptions in the order in which we decyphered them : —

I. " All men that heare my mournfull sound

Repent before you in the ground.

R. B...G. C. Wardens, 1630." On the top of the bell are the
initials T. B. faintly cut, and the founder's mark, below the legend,
is that of George Oldfield.

*Harl. MSS. 6070, f. 177. Nichols' Collectanea, vol. iii., p. 349. Add. MSS. 23,
ill, f. 101. See, also, the account of this coat under Chesterfield.

fLyson's Correspondence. Add. MSS. 9448, f. 174. If this is correct it seems
that he forged both as Norroy and Clarencieux.

ASHOVER. 37

II. " Sweetly toling men do call

To taste on meats that feede the soule."

This legend is not unfrequently found on church bells. The
date on this bell is 1625, and on the top are the initials G. H.*

III. " My roaringe sounde doth warning give

That men cannot heare always live."

The date of this is also 1625, and the initials I. T. are on the
top.

IV. "Abraham Redfiu, C. W., 1751. Tho. Hedderley, Founder."
The scroll work round the shoulder and rim of this bell is beauti-
fully finished.

V. " The old bell rung the downfall of Bonaparte, t and broke
April, 1814. J. and E. Smith, Founders, Chesterfield. George
Eaton, and S. Banford, churchwardens."

Fixed between the mullions of one of the windows of the bell-
chamber is the old Sanctus bell. It is destitute of inscription or
date, and is simply ornamented with a cable moulding. Its
original situation was in a roughly constructed bell-cot, formed of
three stones, which can be plainly seen on the gable of the east
end of the nave ; the upper stone being pierced with the socket
which supported it.

In 1291 Ashover Church was valued at £23 6s. 8d. per annum,
and in the King's Books at £24 3s. lid. The Parliamentary
Commissioners describe it as a parish church and parsonage of the
value of £136 ; Mr. Emauuel Bourue was then minister, and is
praised as "an honest and able man."

This is not the place to descant on the romantic situation of the
picturesque village of Ashover, but, by whatever route the traveller
approaches it, one of the most charming features of the landscape
is the light and graceful spire of the parish church, tapering above
the foliage of the trees in which it is nestled, and we hope these
"Notes" may induce him to pause and make a closer inspection
of the many objects of interest with which this church is connected .

* These initials most likely stand for Godfrey Heathcote. We do not recollect
meeting with the name of Heathcote, of Chesterfield, in any work on campanology,
but a deed of 2 Elizabeth speaks of "Radus Hethcote nuper de Chesterfeld, beLl-
founcler." Add. MSS. 6667, f. 307. Godfrey Heathcote, ironmonger (and probably
bell-founder), was Mayor of Chesterfield several times at the commencement of the
seventeenth century. See Glover's History of Derbyshire.

tThis bell is probably unique. We sent this inscription to Notes and Queries (4th
S. ix. p. 466), but could not hear of any other English church-bell bearing the name
of Bonaparte.

38 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

of

HE precise date at which chapelries were founded can usually
be settled with much more precision than is the case with
the mother-churches, and the chapel of Dethick, an off-
shoot of the mother-church of Ashover, is no exception to the rule.
This chapel, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, and not to St. John,
as Lysons has it, was founded in 1279 by Geoffrey Dethick, and
Thomas, the Prior of Felley in Nottinghamshire. This Priory of
Felley was instituted by Ealph Brito about the year 1154. The
Chantry Eoll, of the time of Edward VI., thus describes this
chapel and its foundation : — " The Chappell of St. John Baptyste
in Detheke founded by Jeffrey Dethyck and Thomas somtyme Prior
of Fellye did bynde himself and the Covent to paye v marks yerelie
owte of the lands in Ashover towards the provydynge of a prest
to saye Devyne service, for his soule, etc., dated A. Dom.
MCCI^XXIX., Ixxiiis, iiijc?. Thurstan Palfriman, chaplyn. It is
distaunte from the Paryshe Churche iij myles aud Sir Jeffreye
Dethyke, Knight, dyd opteyn a lycense of the Bysshoppe of Coventrye
and Lychfeld to have devyne service and to receyve sacraments of
the Churche for hymn and his famyly dated iiij Febr. A. Dom.,
MCCXXVIII. The incumbent hath a lodgynge of the valewe of
vjs. vnjd. The goods etc. is borrowed of the heyres of the sayd
Dethyk." It seems then, that though it may be correct to speak
of the chapel as founded, i.e., endowed, in 1279 (probably by the
will of Sir Geoffrey) a license for the celebration of divine service
was obtained fifty years earlier, which will be the date when the
erection of the chapel was commenced, or at all events decided upon
in the mind of the founder. In the last year of the reign of Henry
IV. (1312) a chantry was founded in this chapel by Koger de
Wyngerworth, of the value of twenty shillings, the income being
derivable from two messuages, consisting of a hundred acres of land
and four acres of meadow, in " Selyoke and Halose."

V

DETHICK. 39

The chapel consists simply of a nave and chancel under a single
roof, and an embattled tower at the west end. This tower, which
we shall shortly describe more particularly, is an interesting example
of late Perpendicular, bearing on the west front the date, 1532.
It is obvious that the building was thoroughly restored at this
time, when the walls were raised, and upper or clerestory windows
inserted. It is most unusual to meet with these windows where
there are no side aisles. There are three of them on the north
side and four on the south, being square-topped, two-light windows,
with cinquefoil heads. On the south side, at the east end, there
is a large three-light window of the same pattern. There is also
a small deeply- splayed lancet window on each side of the chapel ;
these two windows doubtless formed part of the original building
erected by Sir Geoffrey. The simple pointed doorway, too,
on the south side, and the corresponding one on the north,
now built up, sbow by their general character, and especiaUy
by the dripstone with which they are shielded, that they belong to
the early English period.' Perhaps also this may be the case
with the piscina niche to the south side of the altar. The lower
masonry of the side walls is of a ruder construction than that in
which the clerestory windows are inserted, and we may safely
conjecture that the older portion of these walls, as well as the doors
and windows just described, are a part of the chapel for which
a license was obtained from the Bishop in 1228. Their style much
more corresponds with that which was in vogue about 1230 than
in 1279, when it is popularly supposed that the chapel was built,
for at the latter date the Decorated style was succeeding to the
Early English. The chancel window, the top of which has been
somewhat clumsily restored of late years, is the only example of
true Decorated that we noted in the building. In the north wall
of the chancel is a large square recess, partly closed by slabs of
stone, used formerly as an almery or receptacle for the sacred
vessels, &c. ; but besides this there is no other point of inteiv-t
iii the interior of the church, nor any monumental remains, as
neither the building nor churchyard had any right of sepulture
pertaining to them. The roof is almost flat, supported by heavy
transverse beams after the style that universally prevailed at the
close of the Perpendicular period. The timber is now all new,
-toratiou after the old pattern, in consequence of a fare that
occurred at Christmas, 1872, having just been accomplished. The
narrow high archway, that leads under the tower at the we.-t < -ml

40 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

of the church, has a peculiar appearance, as only one of the jambs
or sides has been chiselled into mouldings. The reason of this
curious defect is, however, obvious, it being a necessity to give
sufficient strength to carry up the circular stairway on the south
side of the tower ; for the tower is very narrow in proportion to its
height, and its design did not permit of the steps being placed
in a turret which would form an excrescence on the outside.

It now remains to give some details respecting this tower with
its elaborate armorial bearings. The tower is crested with a light
battlement, on one of the stones of which is the date, 1866, pointing
to its recent renewal ; and it is surmounted at the south-east angle
by an elegant open turret. There is a small doorway at the west,
above it being a pointed window of three principal lights with
debased Perpendicular tracery. The bell-chamber windows are of
the same design, but of only two lights, and below them is arcade
work consisting of similar windows filled up with masonry. Between
them runs a broad frieze or belt all round the tower, upon which
are sculptured numerous armorial bearings. Though the tower
has not yet stood for three-and-a-half centuries, many of these
shields are partially defaced, and some almost entirely. We have
spent considerable time in the rather . laborious work of deciphering
the bearings, but are happily aided in our task by a description of
them taken last century, when they could be read with greater
ease. This description is preserved amongst the Wolley MSS., and
it was utilized and amended in the account of Ashover and Dethick,
published by Nichols, from which we have already quoted. Bassano
also visited Dethick about the year 1710, but though he was generally
so careful in detailing everything connected with his science, he
appears to have found these elaborate coats too much for him ;
and in his account of the church (not hitherto published), he contents
himself with describing those on the lower part of the tower as
foUows : —

" Dethick Chappell, south side of steeple, Bezants a label of 3
poynts, Babington, to which is impaled 7 mascles, 3, 3, 1, with a
label of 3 points.

" Supporters griffin and unicorn. On north side of steeple
same, but worn. On west side over door, ' Anno verbi incarnati,
1530.'"

The elaborate heraldic display on the tower will be chiefly ex-
plained by a reference to the account of the Babington family and

DETHICK. 41

their alliances, in the description of Ashover Church, but a brief
additional note or two are required.

As early as the reign of Henry III. Dethick belonged to an
ancient family who took their name from the manor. In the reigu
of Edward III., Sir Geoffrey Dethick and his brother married the
two coheiresses of Annesley.* But in the reign of Henry VI.,
the elder line, resident at Dethick, became extinct by the death,
in battle, of Eobert, eldest son of Sir William Dethick, and of
Eobert's only sou, Thomas. The eldest sister and coheiress of
Thomas Dethick married Thomas Babiugton, the younger sister
marrying Pole, of Heage. Roger, the second son of Sir William
Dethick, settled at Derby, and from him were descended Sir
Gilbert and Sir William Dethick, who successively held the office
of Garter King-at-Arms. William, the third son of Sir William
Dethick first mentioned, married the heiress of Curzon of Breadsall ;
and his two younger brothers, John and Reginald, married two of
the co-heiresses of Meynell of Newhall.

Dethick thus passed into the hands of Babiugton, by the marriage
between Isabella Dethick and Thomas Babington, at the commence-
ment of the fifteenth century. The precise date is not known, but
it occurred sometime prior to 1431, as is proved by the following
extract from the records of 10 Henry VI., quoted by Nichols.
" Finis inter Thomam Babington armig. et Isabellam uxor. ejus
querentes, et Thomam Chaworth rnilitem, et W. Babingtou mili-
tem et W. Ugarthorp armig. deforcientes de Maner. de Deth. et
Lutchurch, cujus uuo prato et ij messuag et iij bovat. terra? in
Whittingtou, et de advocatione cappeUa Sancti Johan. Baptiste
de Deth, etc."

The eldest son, Thomas, transmitted the estate to his sou and
heir Henry, and Henry's son and heir was the unfortunate Anthony
Babingtou who was executed for high treason in 1586, having
taken part in a plot for the rescue of Mary Queen of Scots,
who was then in captivity at W^infield Manor House. The
Manor of Dethick would then have been escheated to the crown,
but Anthony, knowing the dangerous nature of his conspiracy,
had previously made it over to his younger brother, George,
together with other lauded property. George Babington, however,
soon became involved through his extravagances in pecuniary
difficulties, and the estate was sold to Wednesley Blackwall,
Esq., and eventually became the property of the Hallowes.

* Xirho!-' C.'ih-ctanea. vol. viii.. p. 323.

42 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

The chapel of Dethick was, of course, held by the owner of
the manor through all its vicissitudes, indeed it almost formed
a part of the extensive mansion of the Babingtons, from which
it was only separated by a few yards. The tower was erected
by Sir Anthony Babington, mentioned above, who died in 154-4 ;
and the various inter-marriages of the family which we have
just enumerated will explain the reason of the presence of the
different coats of arms. The escutcheons are not described at
length, when they have already been given under Ashover.

On the south side of the frieze or belt that encircles the
tower, are three shields.

I. Babington impaling Fitzherbert.

II. Babington, impaling quarterly 1st and 4th, Dethick with a
label ; 2nd and 3rd effaced, but Dethick usually quartered the
coats of Allestree of Turnditch, and Stafford of Grafton, with
which families they had intermarried, though it is now quite
impossible to trace these bearings. The label on the Dethick
coat was probably used to mark the heiress of the elder branch.
It was subsequently dropped.

III. Babington impaling Dethick.
On the west side are four shields,

I. Babington impaling Dethick.

II. Babington impaling Alfreton. There are supporters to
this shield that are described by Wolley as "indistinct, ap-
parently two baboons," and Nichols adds that " the supporters
used by Sir Anthony Babington were two baboons upon tuns,
in the false wit of the age — Baboon-tun." The wainscote of
the hall of old Babington House, at Derby, was ornamented
with carvings of these baboons, an engraving of which is given
in Simpson's History of Derby.

III. Babington impaling Ferrers. This shield also has in-
distinct supporters. " Apparently . the lion and the dragon, the
Eoyal supporters of the time of Henry VIII." The royal sup-
porters were often used, says Nichols, by men of rank to denote
attachment to the reigning monarch. Sir Anthony Babington
has introduced them upon Kingston Chapel, Notts. This use
of the royal supporters is a strange heraldic liberty, and was
probably done in those days without express permission.

IV. " Babington, with a crescent in chief, higher than the
label, impaling a bend between 6 cross crosslets, Longvillers."

On the north side are four coats, all much defaced.
I. Babiugton impaling Dethick.

DETHICK. 43

II impaling Babington. The first half of this

shield, which is quite illegible, except that it appears to have
borne a quartered coat, is supposed to have borne the quarter-
ings of Rolleston of Lea.

III. Sa., on a chief, or, a demi-lion rampant yu. (Markham),
impaling Babington.

IV. Babington impaling This cannot now be de-
cyphered, but it is suggested that it was, paly of 5, or and
azure, the arms of Constable of Kinolton.

On the east side there are also four coats.

I. Babiugton impaling, sa., a lion rampant, armed and lan-
gued, <jti., within an orle of cinquefoils, arg. (Clifton).

II. As the first.

III. Indistinct, apparently as the first, but Nichols thinks
that it is possibly the arms of Elizabeth, daughter of Sir
Anthony, who married Sir George Pierpoint ; as the Pierpoint
coat was arg., a sernee of cinquefoils, and a lion rampant, sa.

IV. Babington, on a chief the cross of St. John of Jerusa-
lem. Sir Anthony's brother John was, as we have already
stated, a knight of St. John. Sir John Babington was a
knight of much fame in the order, and held several of the
most important offices. He was Preceptor of Dalby and Rothley,
and Eeceiver General of England. He was appointed Grand
Prior of Ireland on the 15th of June, 1527, which office he
exchanged for the still more honourable one of Turcopolier, just
a year later. The Turcopolier was the commander of the
Turcopoles or light cavalry, and to him was entrusted the coast
defences of the island of Rhodes and subsequently of Malta.
It was an office specially reserved for the head of the English
contingent of the knights of St. John. The office must, how-
ever, have been a sinecure when held by Sir John Babington,
for the knights were expelled from Ehodes in 1522, and did
not obtain possession of Malta till 1530. On the 7th of January
of that year, Sir John resigned the high office of Turcopolier,
and was appointed to the Bailli of Aquila, Aquila or Ecle
being a preceptory situated about seven miles from Lincoln.
Here it appears that lie died, three years after the erection of
the tower at Dethick, viz., in 1533.*

We have now completed the description of all that can be
decyphered on the frieze round the tower, but on the south

* Porter's History of i'i,' Kniylitu of Multa, vol., ii., pp. 290, 294, 299, 323.

44 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

side, some ten feet from the ground, is a large shield of
Babington impaling Ferrers (Sir Anthony's second wife). Wolley
speaks of the royal supporters being used here, but in this
case one of the supporters is, to all appearance, an unicorn,
and we thought that this animal was not used as a royal
supporter till the time of James I. The 'lion,' too, has a
greater resemblance to a bear than to the king of beasts. The
crest is a wyvern's head between two wings displayed, and
above it is the Babington motto Foy est tout. Over all are
the letters A.B., H.C. The shield rests upon a tun, having
allusion to the last syllable of the family name. Nichols men-
tions another favourite device of the punning heralds of this
family, a babe issuing from a tun, a device that forms a
curious cornice at Kingston. The inscription over the west
door, as already quoted from Bassano's notes, is still just legible
though several of the letters have almost crumbled out of
existence.

The Chantry Eoll, describing the chapel of Dethick, does not
enumerate any vessels or other properties, but says — "The
goods etc. is borrowed of the heyres of the sayd Dethyk." The
Babingtons were probably a sufficiently influential family to
forbid the Commissioners to take an inventory of the goods of
the chapel, which they regarded as their private property, and
hence they appear, too, to have saved them from sequestra-
tion, for there was far more of ecclesiastical furniture in Dethick
chapel in 1558, than was the case with many a larger church,
as is proved by the will of Thomas Babiugton.* This will is
dated the 10th of November, 1558, just about the time of the
accession of Queen Elizabeth and the re -establishment of the
Protestant faith. The will bears traces of this time of religious
change, for the writer is evidently puzzled whether to style the
ecclesiastic in charge "priest" or "minister," and solves the
difficulty by the use of both expressions. In it Thomas Babing-
ton bequeaths to his heir — "The belles, and the cloke (clock),
the bowks, and vestments, the challes of sylver, and the orna-
ments and inclothment of my chappell of Dedyke, and my
sellinge Kyiiige of gold that was left unto me by my grand-
father (ancestor?) Thomas Babington, and I also dowe geve
ordere and wylle that he that ys my said eare, being of the
adge of xxi years shall for the spayse of 16 years at leaste

*Acld. MSS., 6668, f. 99.

DETHICK. 45

next after my desseasse earlye fyude kepe Lave sustayne at the
chappell of Dedyke one boneste and abelle preste and nienester
to selebrat and dowe devyne servis daylye thear, and that my
sayd eare shall fynde the said menester or preste competent and
couvenyent meat drinke and lodgiuge fyer and fuelle and to
him yearlye 4 li of lawful moneye over and besydes the sayd
meat and drinke lodginge fyer and fuell duriuge the sayd 16
yeares at leaste, and I wylle that Sir Mylles Whitworth shall
be the sayd preste yf be so wylle and so long leve, and yf my
said eare so dowe not but reffuse or ueglecte to fynde and
sustayue the said preste or to paye him as ys afforsayd, then
I wyll all sutcho tenements with the apptirteuances in Alfreton
or thereabouts taat belongs to the chantree of Alfreton, whearof
Sir Robert Whit was chantre preste, and also .... tenements
in Sornercots with the appurtenances to my executor for xx
years after my decease to support the Dedyke preste."

There is no trace of heraldic glass now left in the windows
of the chapel, but it was formerly well supplied, although
much mutilated at an early date. In Wyrley's copy of Flower's
Derbyshire Visitation (1569), with additions taken by himself in
1592, he says of the arms at Dethick : — "The glass is much
broken, but heare have I set downe of the fragments the re-
maynder." — *

I. Babington impaling Dethick.

II. Leche impaling Babington.

III. Babington impaling arg., on a saltire, az., five water
bougets, or, (Sacheverell).

IV. Sa., a chevron between ten martlets, arg. (Benefeld.)

V. Ary., a cross flory, so., within a border engrailed, gu.
(Walton).

VI. Babington impaling Ferrers.

VII. Quarterly 1st and 4th Chaworth ; 2nd and 3rd paly of
six, or and <ju., a bend surtout, arg. (Longford.)

The alliances signified by these escutcheons have been already
explained, with the exception of Sacheverell, Benefeld, and Walton.
Thomas Babington, sou and heir of Sir Anthony, the rebuilder
of this chapel, married Catharine, daughter of Henry Sacheverell,
of Morley. We are unable to account for the presence of the
two other co;.

A later Visitation, taken in 1611, mentions, that "Thomas

•Harl. MSS., 6592, f. 87.

46 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Babington, of Dethick, had nine sons and six daughters, as in the
chappell window at Dethick aforesaid, whose names as they are
there expressed doe folowe." Then follows a list of the children
and their marriages, corresponding in the main with that already
given under Ashover.*

It only remains to note that the tower contains a single bell,
eighteen inches in diameter at the mouth, and bearing no inscrip-
tion beyond the date, 1836. Close to the tower is a horizontal
metal sun-dial, fixed on the top of a stone pillar. It has no date,
but bears the maker's name, " Ealph Gosling."

*Harl. MSS., 1093.

LEA. 47

of Hca.

JHE hamlet of Lea, which closely adjoins that of Dethick,
and forms part of the same township, is partly in
the parish of Ashover, partly in that of Crich, and
partly in South Wiufield. In the reign of King John, the manor
of Lea belonged to Robert de Alveley. He left two daughters, his
coheiresses, the eldest of whom conveyed her moiety of the manor
to Ferrers, of Stockesley, in Staffordshire, and it was subsequently
sold by her son to Sir Geoffrey Dethick, through whom it came
into the hands of the Babingtons. The younger daughter conveyed
the other moiety to one of the De la Leas, which was afterwards
purchased by the Frechevilles, who in their turn sold it, in the
fourteenth century, to the Rollestons.

A chapel, dedicated to St. Mary, was founded here by Robert
Alveley, in the reign of John ; and that moiety of the manor of
Lea in which the chapel was situate, was for a long time dis-
tinguished by the name of Leachurch (Lutchurch). In the twelfth
year of Henry IV., Roger de Wingerworth founded a chantry in the
chapel, endowing it with xxs. issuing from three messuages, forty
acres of land (arable), and four acres of meadow in Stanley. This
chapel is thus described in the Chantry Roll : — " The Chauntrye
of Legghe founded by Robert Alveley for a pryste to mayntayne
Godds Service at the chappell of the Leighe because there is no
pareyshe church nere by j myles a halfe, and there to pray for
the founders soule, etc. There ys many hamletts adjoynyng to
the chappel xlviis. clere livs. viijrf. iiij. in rents resolute. Thos.
Roughbotham chauntrye preste. It is distant from the Paryshe
churche iij myles. It hath a mancyon house and lands prysed att
xiijs. iiijd. by yere, stock liij«. xd."

48 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Amongst Keynolds' Church Notes we find the following passage
relative to this chapel: — "Upon Mr. Nightingale's barn (standing
by the yew tree at the town head) in Lea, in the parish of Ash-
over, co. Derby, which formerly was a chappel, and is still called
the chappel barn, is this inscription wrote upon each side of a
window (which I copied off in 1768) — ' Anno Domini 1478. Thys
chapel was made.' "* Lysons, writing in 1817, speaks of this
inscription as " still visible," but we failed to find either inscrip-
tion, or window, or any other certain trace of an ecclesiastical
building. An old inhabitant showed us the barn, traditionally
spoken of as the chapel, and said that he recoUected, as a boy, an
old oak reading desk standing in one corner ; but the building, if
we hit upon the right one, has now been completely changed in
character, and is divided into two stories, the lower one being, at
the time of our visit, appropriated as a kennel for sporting dogs.

* A rough pen-and-ink sketch is given of this window (Add. MSS. 6670, f. 267),
from which it appears that it was a pointed Perpendicular window of two principal
lights.

|HE first historical mention of Barlborough occurs in the
will of Wulfric Spott, 1002, to which we have occa-
sion to refer in several of our descriptive notices of
the Derbyshire Churches. By this will the manor of Barl-
borough, like the adjacent ones of Clown and Eckington, was
bestowed on Morcare, and did not form part of the endowment
of Burton Abbey, as asserted by Lysons. At the time of the
Domesday Survey it was held by Robert under Ralph Fitzhu-
bert. It is supposed that this Robert was ancestor of Robert
de Meinell. One of his co-heiresses brought the manors of
Barlborough, Killamarsh, and Whitwell to Sir Matthew de Hather-
sage in the reign of John ; and in the latter end of the
reign of Henry III., the co-heiresses of Hathersage brought it
in moieties to the families of Goushill and Longford.

The moiety belonging to the Longfords continued in their
family for several generations. In 12 Edward I. Oliver de
Longford is described as possessed of a manor at Barlborough,
and in the 32ud year of the same reign mention is made of
one John de Longford as the owner. The Inquisitions also of
30 Edward III. and 3 Henry IV. prove that it continued
with the Longfords. Indeed it was not till 1610 that it left
the family, when, at the death of Sir Nicholas Longford, it
was conveyed by one of his co-heiresses to a younger branch
of the Poles of Wakebridge. The last representatives of this
marriage, two maiden ladies, both died in the year 1755.

The history of the other moiety is not so easy to trace,
but it was held in 20 Edward II. by Walter de Goushill and
his wife Margaret, by Thomas de Goushill in 48 Edward III.,
and apparently remained in the family till about the close of
the fifteenth century, for Anthony Wingfield who had married

52 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

a co-heiress of Sir Robert Goushill, suffered a recovery in
1513. In 1521 Thomas, Earl of Derby, died seized of a manor
at Barlborough, his uncle Edward Stanley in 1523, and Sir
William Holies, sometime Lord Mayor of London, in 1542.
Queen Mary, in 1544, granted the manor, that had belonged
here to the Stanleys, to Dame Anne Stanhope ; and Sir Thomas
Stanhope sold it in 1571 to Sir Richard Pype, another Lord
Mayor of London, who died seized of it and of the advowson
of the rectory in 1587. These various changes all appear to
relate to the moiety inherited by the Goushills, but there are
other records relative to manors at Barlborough that are not
BO easy of explanation. A survey of Barlborough, taken in
1630, describes three parks, and this probably points to the
subdivision of the manor into three moieties at sometime in
its history. In this way and this only, can we account for
the fact that, though one moiety of the manor was in the
hands of the Longfords throughout the sixteenth century, and
though the history of the second moiety at the same period
can be accurately traced, Francis Rodes, who was made one of
the Justices of Common Pleas in 1585, purchased an estate,
described as the Manor of Barlborough, of the Seliokes about
the same time. That there was some dispute, however,
about the manorial rights, is made evident by a lawsuit on the
subject between Humphrey Pype, son of the above-named Lord
Mayor, and Sir John Rodes, the son of Francis Rodes. Even-
tually it seems that Sir John Rodes purchased Pype's moiety,
in whose family the manorial rights and the advowson of the
church still remain. This third manor, purchased of the Seliokes
by the Rodes, who had for several generations lived at Staveley
Woodthorpe, was probably the one described in the reign of
Edward I. as " the manor of Ada de Grydeling and the park
of Barlborough," which was then held by William de Faucon-
berg, and in the next reign by John de Stuteville. This
estate of the Seliokes had previously belonged to the Constables
of Yorkshire, to whom, we think, it came by marriage, but we
have failed to ascertain in what way. Stephen Constable of
Catfoss in Holderuess is said to have been " seized of the
manor of Balbroke (Barlborough), now in possession of Sir John
Rodes." *

* Vincent's Derbyshire (College of Arms), 156. The previous information about
the manor is taken from the various Inquisitions, Quo Warranto and Patent Eolls,
the references to which would be too numerous for quotation.

BARLBOROUGH. 53

We have been thus particular in trying to trace out the
respective owners of the divided manor, in order to explain the
cause of the armorial bearings on the church, which we shall
presently describe.

The Domesday Survey speaks of this manor and that of
Whitwell being held conjointly, and chronicles the then exist-
ence of a church and a priest, but whether situate at Barl-
borough or Whitwell it is impossible now to say with certainty.
Although a fine cruciform church must have been erected at
Whitwell not many years after the Conquest, we failed to find
any trace of the existence of a building prior to the advent of
William, and are inclined to think that the claims of Barl-
borough as the older church are superior. Barlborough was
evidently the more important place when the Survey was taken,
for not only is it mentioned first, but the name in the original
document is traversed by a red line, which was used by the
Norman scribes to particularise places of more especial note.
Moreover, though the present building may not show any suffi-
cient trace of early work to justify our surmise, there is a
memorial in the churchyard, against the north side of the
tower, which points to early sepulture upon this spot. This
memorial is a rude stone coffin, originally formed of one block
of stone hollowed into a trough, and with a circular receptacle
for the head at the wider end, but now broken into four
fragments. It measures, in its outside dimensions, six feet nine
inches by two feet four, and apparently is not of later date
than the eleventh century. This coffin, according to notes
taken by Dr. Pegge, was exposed at the foot of the tower
nearly one hundred and fifty years ago, though it was then on
the south side and unbroken.

The church is dedicated to St. James, of which there is no
reasonable doubt, though certain modern Directories of Derby-
shire, without any apparent cause, persist in ascribing it to St.
Matthew. The building consists of a nave, chancel, north aisle,
and embattled tower. The nave is separated from the north
aisle by four serni- circular archways resting on three pillars,
two of which are octagon, and the other is channelled into a
quatrefoil shape. These afford clear proof of the erection of a
substantial church here in the later Norman days, in the reign
probably of Henry II. or Richard I. ; and this church must
have been again much altered or rebuilt a little more than a

54 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

century later. The archway leading from the nave into the
chancel is supported by corbels terminating in well-defined
foliage, and belongs to the Early English period of architecture.
It also seems as if parts of the present tower were then
erected, and this is not only indicated by the small pointed
light on the south side, but by the general appearance of the
masonry of the lower part of the walls.

On the west front of the tower we find two stones engraved
with the following arms — Barry of six, a canton, ermine ; and
Paly of six, a bend. These are the respective arms of
Goushill and Longford, who married the co-heiresses of Hather-
sage, the former sole owner of the manor, and doubtless, also
of the advowson of this church. Now Sir Matthew de Hather-
sage was. living in 1248, and it seems probable that it was
about the close of the thirteenth century that these two families
rebuilt the church in the style of that period, the Early
English, and engraved their armorial bearings as a memento
on the walls. Though the manor was divided between the
heiresses of Hathersage, it does not appear that this was the
case with the advowson of the church, for the inquisition at
the close of the reign of Edward I. particularises John de
Longford as the owner of the church.* The main characteris-
tics of this tower are of a much later date, but the stones
with the arms of the refounders of the church would naturally
be preserved. The square-headed west door to the tower and
the window above it are comparatively modern innovations, for
we find from the interior that the west window has been
blocked up, and the present light only occupies a portion of
that space. The summit is ornamented with four pinnacles and
intervening battlements of debased Perpendicular, or possibly
still later style. Of this style, too, are the windows that light
the north aisle, and the whole of the chancel, including the five-
light east window, the south doorway, and the two south windows.

Over these two south windows of the chancel are four more
coats of arms cut in stone. The first has the arms of Goushill
repeated. The second is a quartered coat, 1st and 4th, a bend
upon a pale ; 2nd and 3rd Quarterly. The first bearing of the
first coat, though incorrectly given, probably owing to the exigen-
cies of space that could not be conquered by the stone hewer,

*Inq. post Mortem, 32 Edward 1., No. 24.

UAKLBOHOUGH. 55

appears to be intended for Longford, and the other for Solney, of
Newton Solney. This family died out in the course of the four-
teenth century, when the co-heiresses married Sir Nicholas Longford
and Sir Thomas Stafford, their arms being — Quarterly, arg. and
flu. The third coat is, a chevron fretty between three fleurs-de-lis.
Dr. Pegge attributed this coat to Sherley, a family of Kent, but
was unable to assign any reason for its presence here, nor have
we, though we have spent no little time in the search, been able
to find any alliance between the Sherley s and the Lougfords, or
Goushills, or any other families connected with Barlborough. The
Sherleys bore — gu., a chevron counter-compony, arg. and sa., be-
tween three fleurs-de-lis, or ; bub this coat seems to us to corres-
pond more nearly to one used by Delves, of Cheshire, &c. — arg.,
a chevron fretty, or, between three fleurs-de-lis, sa. William
Babington, of Chihvell, who was Sheriff of Derby and Notts, in
1456, was seized of lauds at Barlborough. His daughter and
heiress, Etheldena, brought his estates to Sir John Delves. She
died in 1503.* This is the most satisfactory solution that we can
offer in connection with this escutcheon. The fourth shield bears
another quartered coat — 1st and 4th, a cinquefoil between eight
cross-crosslets (Constable of Fresbmarsh) ; 2nd and 3rd, two bars
of five lozeuges (Constable of Catfoss).

The connection of the Constables with Barlborough has been
already mentioned, but it remains to be explained that Stephen
Constable of Catfoss, who bore the fusiled bars, married Eliza-
beth, daughter and heiress of George Constable of Freshmarsh,
the older branch, and therefore bore his wife's arms in tjhe
first place. There is yet one more armorial bearing to note.
To the left hand of the east window of the chancel is a shield
charged with a mullet. This is the coat of Ashtou. The con-
nection of the Ashtons with Barlborough is thus explained in a
note from J. C. Brooke, " Somerset," dated Herald's College,
16 April, 1781, to Dr. Pegge, the well-known Derbyshire
antiquary — " Alexander Ashton lived at Barlborough, in Derby-
shire. He married Helen, daughter of Otwell Culchath, and
had fame as of Kinwoldmarshe (Killamarsh), living 1569.
Both Killamarsh and Hathersage, where the Ashtons had pro-

* Pedigree of Babington, from a roll drawn by the College of Arms in 1627.
A John Delvys married Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Sothill, and widow of John
Frecheyille ; John Frecheville died in 1509, and his tomb is still extant at Staveley.
Can this be the same Sir John Delves who married Etheldena Babington for his
first wife? The Frechevilles, also, at one time held property in Barlborough.
Nichols' Collectanea, vol. iv. p. 4.

56 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

perty, anciently belonged to the Goushills. It looks as if there
was some connection between them."*

It follows, then, as a fair conclusion from the presence of
these numerous coats of arms, that this chancel was rebuilt,
and probably the church generally restored, in the first half of
the sixteenth century, by the Constables, Ashtons, and Long-
fords (and perhaps of the Delves), preserving on it also the
earlier arms of Goushill and Longford.

It would have been well for its comeliness if the church
had undergone no later " restoration ; " but the round-headed
square-paned windows of the south side of the nave, and the
flat-ceiled roofs of the interior of both nave and chancel,
speak plainly of the abominations of the pseudo-Italian of the
last century. Nor have we long to seek for the authors of
this "beautifying," as it was generally termed. A small mural
brass at the east end of the north aisle records that : —

"In hopes of a blessed resurrection are hereunder deposited
the remains of Mrs. Margaret Pole and Mrs. Mary Pole, two
maiden sisters, whose lives were employed in the exercise of
piety and works of charity, in which they had a special regard
for . the House of God, and his living temples, the poor ;
whereof, as to the former, the handsome addition made to
this sacred edifice, and the new seating of another in an ad-
joining parish [Killamarsh ?] ; and as to the latter, an alms-
house erected in this town are generous instances ; as they
always joined together in these good works, so in their deaths
they were not long divided : Mrs. Margaret Pole died 7th
August, and Mrs. Mary Pole 17 September, 1755. "t

The recital of this inscription has brought us to the interior
of the church, of which we need only say in general terms
that its appearance is quite spoilt by the ceiled roofs, and the
ugly western gallery which blocks up the archway into the
tower. There are hardly any memorials of sufficient age to
warrant our commenting upon them, though perhaps we may

* Pegge's Collections, vol. i. According to Flower's Visitation in 1569, the
Ashtons of Killamarsh were descended from Sir John Ashton, a natural son of
Sir John Ashton of Ashton-under-Lyne, and bore a baton sinister across the mullet.

t The Rector of Barlborough informs us that it is generally understood that the
front of Barlborough Church was rebuilt by Mr. Gilbert Eodes, the same gentleman
•who was concerned in the rebuilding of Elmton Church. He died in 1768. He
adds, however, that the date in the register of the " first child baptized in the new
church " and that of the Misses Pole is confirmatory of the view in the text. It is
quite possible that the two ladies restored one part, and Mr. Rodes another. The
parapet and pinnacles on the church were placed there in 1776.

BARLBOROUGH. 57

except that to Sir Richard Pipe in the chancel, which hears
the following inscription: — "Hie jacet Eicardus Pipe miles, civis
quondam et major, London, et hujus rectorias solus patronus, qui
ultimum diem clausit 19 die Mensis Sept. A D. 1587 ; et setatis
sure 72."

Bassano, an heraldic painter of Derby, who visited this
church in the year 1705, says in his manuscript notes that
" within the altar rails, south above Pipe's tomb, hangs an
helmet with Pipe's crest upon it," but this has now long since
disappeared.

There is, however, one monument in this church that is worthy
of detailed notice, and which has already excited no little interest
and comment. Bassano speaks of it as reared up against the east
wall of the chancel, and several subsequent accounts describe it as
" near to the communion table ; " but this memorial must now be
looked for at the east end of the north aisle. The monument is
sculptured in low-relief, and is let into the floor nearly level
with the pavement. It consists of an effigy of a female, and the
dimensions of the stone are six feet ten inches by two feet seven.
The figure, which is much mutilated, is dressed in a close-fitting
gown, and over it a long mantle fastened across the breast by a
cord secured by two studs. She has her hands raised. On each
side of the head is a shield, the dexter one illegible, and on the
sinister a bend. At the feet, too, is another shield supported by
two talbots collared and belled. Bassano says that at his visit to
the church the shield at the dexter corner bore a saltier (Nevile),
and the one at the sinister a bend between six martlets (Furnival),
whilst at the feet were the same arms impaled. He also records
that the following was all of the inscription then legible. — "Hie
jacet . . . Johanne fil . . . her . . . WiUielmi Four-
nival Tho. ..." He takes it to be the

memorial of Joan, wife of Sir Thomas Nevile, lord of Furnival,
in right of his wife, who was heiress to William Lord Furnival,
and the last of the name in direct line ; he died in 1383.
Furnival's Inn, London, was his residence in town. Joan had only
one daughter, who carried the great Furnival estates to John
Talbot, first Earl of Shrewsbury. She was married in 1384, and
buried at Worksop about the year 1395. Her husband died in
1406, and was buried on her right hand in the centre of the
chancel of the old Priory at Worksop. The upper portion of his

58 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

effigy is still extant at that church. * It is supposed that this
monument was removed a few years after the Reformation, when
great havoc was being made there. Judge Eodes, who was senes-
chal to the Earl of Shrewsbury, is said to have obtained permission
for its translation to its present site, hi order that it might grace
the church of his newly-acquired property at Barlborough, the
undivided patronage of which he had just secured. What is now
left of the marginal inscription is very difficult to decipher. "Wil-
lielmi Fournivall " is still quite distinct, and the words immediately
preceding it, "heir et uxor," but the remainder is too illegible to
hazard the committing of it to paper. Pigot, the ancient rhyming
chronicler of Worksop Priory, thus speaks of the position that this
tomb formerly occupied : —

" Dame Johane is berved aboven the hye quere
Next Thomas Nevill that was her husband
In alabaster, an ymage, Sir Thomas right nera
As he is tumulate on her right hand,
And by her daughter Molde, we understand,
Went out the Furnivalls, as by their name,
As Lovetofts by Dame Molde afore did the same." f

Close to this ancient tomb of Lady Furuival is the upper
portion of the old font. It is a large octagonal stone about
eighteen inches high, and two feet three inches in diameter, with a
basin ten inches deep. It is a pity that this old stone should
not be restored to its original use in the place of the modern
makeshift that now does duty. In the hollow of this font
there is a small octagon- shaped stone, a model, as it were, of
a larger font. It stands ten inches high by eleven in diameter,
and has a basin eight inches deep. Two small lips or handles
project from the sides about half-way up. We have little
doubt that this stone vessel formerly served the purpose of a
moveable stoup, to contain the consecrated water. It is usual
in our churches, where stoups are left, to find them in the
shape of basins or receptacles built into the wall at the en-
trance to the doors, but it was not infrequent for them to be
movable vessels of different materials and placed on stands or
pedestals as occasion served. Bloxam quotes from an inventory
of Church goods of the year 1500, "a stope off lede for the

* Hunter's Hallamshire, p. 57. An engraving of this monument, and of her ances-
tor's at Worksop, are given in the new edition by Dr. Gatty. See also the new work
on Worksop, <tc., by Robert White, where there is an admirable pedigree of the early
Lords of Worksop.

t The Ehyming Chronicles of Worksop consist of twenty-nine stanzas, of which
this is a fair specimen. The Chronicle is given in full in Dugdale's Monasticon, vol.
ii., p. 937—939, from an ancient manuscript in the possession of the Talbots of Graf ton.

BARLBOROUGH. 59

holy water atte the Church dore." We have ourselves dis-
covered another of these detached stone stoups, of a slightly
different pattern, which we believe to have belonged to the old
chapel at Newbold, near Chesterfield. Dr. Pegge, writing about
the middle of last century, speaks of "a hole in the wall for
holy water" at the end of this aisle, by which he probably meant
a piscina, but there is no trace of one now remaining.* He
also describes certain arms in fresco at the east end of the
north aisle, viz. : " a bend between 6 escallops, impaling a
saltire ermine ; crest of ye 1st an angel, of ye 2nd a bull's
head coupe." This would represent an alliance of Sir Peter
Frecheville, who died in 1634. He married for his second
wife Isabell Nevile, arms — gu., a saltire, erni. (the widow of
Richard Harpur of Swarkston.H On a beam in the nave, at
the east end, he noted seven coats, two of which he describes
as " gu., a cross potent, anj., and arg. a cross, gu." In a
south window was, "Quarterly; arg,, 10 fusils, 5 in a row;
gu., in ye fess point a cinquefoil, or, surrounded with 6 cross
crosslets of ye same." These are the arms of Fauconberg and
Cooke respectively, whose connection with the manor of Barl-
borough has been already mentioned. On one of the old pews
were the arms and crest of Eodes, with the motto, " Occident,
Occidens," and hi another place the initials J. E., coupled with
the date 1636. These would, doubtless, be the initials of Sir
John Eodes, son of Judge Eodes ; he was High Sheriff for the
county in the 38th of Elizabeth, and died in September, 1639.
Bassano and Pegge both notice a shield bearing two chevrons
on a beam in the north aisle. This, according to the tinctures,
might be either the coat of Musard, ancestor of the Frechevilles,
or of Alfreton, but the former is more probable in this situation.

One of the reasons that caused that eminent antiquary and
clerical pluralist, Dr. Pegge, to give such an extended notice of
the church and manor of Barlborough, probably arose from the
fact, not mentioned hi any account that we have seen of his
life, that he was once presented to this living, at a time when
there was a dispute as to the patronage. A vacancy occurred
in 1733, and a dispute arose between Mr. Francis Pole of Park
Hall, and Sir John Rodes, who was a Quaker, and therefore
esteemed by certain illogical persons as incapable of exercising

*Pegge's Collections, vol. v., pp. 17, 32, etc.
f Nichols' Collectanea, vol. iv., p. 5.

60 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

the rights of patron. Mr. Pole appointed Dr. Samuel Pegge,
and Sir John Eodes selected Kev. Francis Bowler. The Bishop
issued a Jus Patronatus, and a jury was sworn and gave a
verdict in favour of Sir John Kodes on the 29th of August,
1733, Mr. Pole deciding not to appear or persist in his claim.
The following is a list given by Dr. Pegge, of the rectors and
patrons of Barlborough up to this date from the time when
the advowson came into the hands of Sir Kichard Pipe.

F. Nevill, presented by E. Pipe, 1574.

James Stephenson, 1597.

Bryan Heperstal, 1616.

J. Brocklehurst, presented by Dame A. Kodes, 1662.

Phineas Maw, presented by Sir J. Kodes, 1682.

James Cooke, presented by Sir J. Kodes, 1699.

Francis Bowler, presented by Sir J. Kodes, 1733.

There must, however, be an error or at all events an in-
completeness in this list, for at the inquisition taken at Ches-
terfield, 14th June, 1650, before the Parliamentary Commis-
sioners, Mr. Brocklehurst, who is characterized as "an honest,
able preacher," held the living of Barlborough, which was then
worth " about fower score pounds." The church at Barlborough
was valued at £10 in the Taxation Roll of Pope Nicholas IV.,
and at £10 Is. 5£d. in the time of Henry VIII.

It only now remains to note the bells, which are five in number.

I. This bears the inscription in coarse gothic characters,
" Sum rosa pulsata mundi Maria vocata." The inscription is
preceded by the stamp of a cross pate, and followed by a
crown, but it has no other marks.

II. Similar characters and stamps as the first bell, and the
inscription " Hujus Sti Jacobi.

III. The inscription in well executed Lombardic characters is
" Gloria in excelsis deo. Ihc." The bell founder's mark is a
fylfot cross in a shield surmounted by the letters G.H. There
is no date, but the approximate date may be gathered from
the years that appear on other bells with identically the same
inscription and bell founder's mark. These vary from 1609 to
1620 or thereabouts. We have noted similar bells to this,
among other places, at Whitwell, Dronfield, Eckington, Alfreton,
Baslow, Bonsall, and Denby.

IV. Has no inscription or mark whatsoever.

V. " JM. Halton made me. Anno M.D.C.C.X.X.V."

Parloto.

|NTIL the last few years Barlow (or Barley, as it was
more usually termed) was merely a parochial chapelry,
attached to Staveley, although it was distant six-and-a-
half miles from that place, and completely cut off by the interven-
ing parish of Whittiiigton. We have failed to learn anything of the
early history of Barlow Church or Chapel, but the probability is
that the advowson was attached to the lordship of the manor.
At the time of the Domesday Survey this manor was held by
Ascuit Musard. In the reign of Edward I., the family of Abitot,
or Apetoft possessed the manor,* but in the 18th year of Edward
II., we read that Eobert de Barlow held Barlow, under Kalph de
Frecheville, on the tenure of military service and attendance in the
manor court. Lysons supposes that that branch of the Abitot
family which settled at Barlow, adopted the name of the manor
as their distinguished surname.

The church, which is of small dimensions, and is dedicated to St.
Lawrence, merely consists of a nave and south porch, with a chancel
of modern birth. The Domesday Book makes no mention of a church
at Barlow, but early in the Norman period one must have been here
erected. The high but narrow doorway inside the porch, with its
semi-circular head, is a proof of this, and so also is one of the
deeply splayed single-light windows in the north wall. When the
church was restored, a few years ago, it was found that much of the
masonry of the walls was put together in the rough way common to
the Norman period. In pulling down the east end to make way for
the chancel, the remains of five small round-headed windows were
found, as well as a plain piscina in a semi-circular niche twelve
inches high, the basin itself being about eight inches in diameter.

* Jordimus de Apetoft held the manors both of Barley and Dronfield — Inq. post-
mort., 2 Edw. I., No. 11.

64 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Norman piscinas are but rarely seen, and this has happily been
preserved in the east wall of the vestry, which now forms an
adjunct to the north side of the chancel. The Norman style has
been well carried out in the new chancel and vestry. Several
traces of fresco painting, chiefly consisting of scroll work of a
chocolate tint, were laid bare at the time of the alterations, but
they were not sufficiently durable to stand exposure to the at-
mosphere.

A window on the south side shows plain tracery, early in the
Decorated period. On the same side is a projecting chantry or
chapel, at the east end of which is a small two-light window with
a quatrefoil head, which is a good specimen of the same style, circa
1340. The south window of this chantry has five lights and affords
a curious example of debased Perpendicular. Another instance,
though perhaps of the "Churchwarden" era, may be seen in the west
window. The porch has a pointed archway resting on plain corbels,
and seems to date from the Decorated period. Immediately to the
west of the porch is an external staircase leading to a small
gallery over the south chantry, which has been suffered still to
exist. The west end of the church bears a clumsy-looking bell-
turret, covered with shingles, which affords shelter to a single bell,
destitute, we were told, of any inscription.

The most interesting memorial contained in Barlow Church is
now fixed against the east wall of the nave, to the right of the
archway leading into the chancel. It consists of a slab of grit-
stone, five feet five inches in length, and tapers in breadth from
nineteen inches at the top to thirteen at the bottom. It is orna-
mented with a raised cross of elegant design, with foliage springing
from each side of the stem. On the dexter side is a Norman-
French inscription of two lines in Lombardic characters. The
inscription is very much worn, but enough remains legible to
prove that it is to the memory of Julia, wife of Adam Fraunceis,
and it apparently concludes with a promise of pardon of a certain
number of days to those who might offer a prayer for her soul.

This interesting stone was found built into the east wall of the
church, during the late restoration, where it formed the base of
the then east window. It was fortunately noticed by the Vicar in
time to save it from mutilation. Norman-French inscriptions pre-
vailed in England from the time of the Conquest up to about the
year 1360; and, judging only from the style of the cross, we are
inclined to place the date of this memorial in the latter half of the

BARLOW. 65

thirteenth century. This supposition is confirmed by the information
that we have been able to gather with respect to Adam Fraunceis.
The Derbyshire family of Frauuceis, Franceis, or Frauncis, resided
at Allestree in the reign of Edward II., and in the succeeding reign
they purchased the manors of Foremark and Ingleby in this
county. It seems probable that the progenitors of this family,
though we have found it impossible to precisely follow the descent,
were originally possessed of estates in the neighbourhood of Barlow,
and that another branch, descended from a younger son of Adam
and Julia, settled in Louden, where they speedily became wealthy
citizens, possessing much property in Cheapside and elsewhere,
as can be proved from the early inquisitions in which their name*
repeatedly occur. Amongst the Wolley papers is the copy of a
deed between Adam, tli3 son of Robert Fraunceis " de Barley
Wodesetes,- and James, the son of Jordan de Abetot, by which
the former, in consideration of a certain sum of money, grants to
James and his heirs a bovate of land in Barlow, formerly held
by Serlo Bay Hi. The deed is not dated, but from the names of
the witnesses (Hugo de Linacre, Thomas de la Leys, Henry de
Newbold, &c.) it may be assigned to the reign of Edward I., and
is probably of the year 1283.*

From Reynolds' Church Notes we find that he visited Barlow
Church on 14th April, 1757. f He describes "in the north-east
corner a large chest tomb bearing round the edge in old text, ' Orate
pro anima Eoberti Barley, nuper defuncti qui obiit in die assnmpsionis
beatce Ma rice Virginis. Anno Dom. Millesimo CCCCLXVII Item orate
pro bono statu Margaretce uxoris suce ? ' ' It is further described as
bearing a man and woman drawn on the top, with five uncharged
escutcheons on the south side, and two at the west end. The
character of this tomb must have been altered a short time sub-
sequent to this account, probably when the church was re-pewed,
for prior to the recent alteration the top slab, which is ah1 that
remains, was fixed against the wall in the north-east corner. It
now once more rests in a horizontal position, somewhat raised
from the floor, under the large window of the south chantry. The
inscription round the edge is as fresh as in Mr. Reynolds' day.
The slab is of alabaster, and is incised with full-length figures

* Add. MSS., 6668, fo. 212. In the Pleas at London, in the Middlesex Iter. for
tho '2iJnd of Edward I., mention is made of a suit by " Mestre Adam le Fransseys
e les antrcs nomes en le bref exequitouns Gylbert le Franseys demanderunt par bref
de dette ver un Michel dens C. Mars e x livres," &c., &c. — Year Books of the reign of
Ed-ward I., p. 599.

t Add. MSS. 6,670, fo. 391.

r

66 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

of a man and woman placed under pointed canopies. These two
figures afford a good study of the costume of the period. The man
is clad in plate armour, and wears his helmet. On the feet are
pointed sollerets, over which are buckled spurs, the rowels being
crossed ; the sword is suspended at the left side, while the hilt of
the miserecorde. or dagger, shows on the right ; the hands are bare,
one of them grasps the hand of his lady, and the other is placed
on his breast holding a gauntlet. The head of the lady is orna-
mented with the celebrated mitred or horned head-dress, then in
vogue, against which the satirists of the day so vigorously wrote.
She wears a long close-fitting kirtle or gown, and over it a flowing
mantle fastened with cords across the breast. But the most charac-
teristic portion of her costume is the singular garment called tho
sideless cote-hardi. It consisted of but little more than a narrow
strip both behind and in front of the figure, but united over the
shoulders and from a little below the waist. Thus the sides of the
under dress, and the cincture by which it is confined are visible,
as in this instance, through the openings.

This tomb is briefly mentioned by Bassano about 1710, when
it was in the chancel ; and also in Lysons' Collections a century
later, when it was set up against the east wall.

In Glover's History of Derbyshire (1838) an inscription is given
from another monument, as though then in existence, to the memory
of a celebrated member of the same family — " tiic jacet Robcrtus
Barley et . uxor ejus quidem Robertus obiit 2 die Februarii

Anno Dom. 1532, quorum animabus propitietur Dens. Amen" This
inscription is also repeated in Baternan's Vestiges (1848), yet not
the slightest trace of either stone or inscription now remains.

But neither Glover nor Bateman can be depended upon for
giving inscriptions that were extant in their own days, and the
probability is, that this monument had ceased to exist long
before their time, and the inscription copied from the Visitation
of 1611. In the notes taken at this Church, in that year, by
Richard St. George Norroy, King-at-arms, this inscription is given,
and also the one to Eobert Barley and his wife Margaret, which
is still extant. The five escutcheons that Reynolds mentions, as
pertaining to the latter of these inscriptions, were then legible,
and are described as follows : —

1. Arg., three bars wavy, sa., a chief per pale, erm. and
gu. (Barley).

2. Barry of six, arg. and gu., impaling Barley.

BARLOW. 67

3. Barley impaling, arg., three cocks, gu. (Cokaine).

4. Barry of six, arg. and gu., on a canton of the last, a
fleur-de-lis, or (Vincent of Braytlrwell).

5. Two bendlets, with a crescent for difference, (no tinctures,
perhaps, for Newton) impaling Barley.

There were also the arms of Barley in one of the windows.*
It is a difficult matter to trace the early pedigree of Barley of
Barley, so as to precisely account for the presence of these
different arms on the tomh in question ; but there is no diffi-
culty in accounting for the fourth coat, as John Vincent, of
Braythwell, co. Ebor, who was slain at the battle of Wakefield,
89 Henry VI., married Agnes, daughter of Barley of Barley, in
the sixth year of the. same reign. Probably this Agnes was
daughter to Robert Barley whom the monument commemorates.
John Vincent had, by Agnes, a son, Bryan, who married Beatrix,
daughter of Sir Thomas Cokaine of Ashborne. The intermarriages
between the Barleys and Cokaiues were numerous and intricate ;
but the impaled coat of Barley and Cokaiue on this monument
refers to the marriage of Robert Barley, the eldest son of Robert
and Margaret, the daughter of Sir Henry Delves of Duddington,
Cheshire, whose effigies are on the tomb, with the daughter of
Sir Thomas Cokayne. This Sir Thomas Cokayue had himself
married Agues, the daughter of Robert Barley of another gene-
ration, and sister to the Robert commemorated on the tomb, so
that the alliance in question was one between first cousins. The
second coat (Barry of six, ary. and yu.) was probably also in-
tended for Vincent, the canton being worn off at the time of
the Visitation. If this was the tomb, as we conjecture, of Robert
Barley who married the daughter of Sir Henry Delves, the im-
paled coat of Barley and Delves would originally have been at
the head of the tomb, and those escutcheons in the front, which
were read at the Visitation of 1611, to commemorate the alliances
of their children. f A few broken fragments of old incised slabs,
which no ingenuity could put together, were buried under the
altar of the new chancel, and among them may have been the

*Harl. MSS. 1093, f. 33. There is another copy of this Visitation (Harl. MSS. 1486,
f. 58) which differs from that quoted in giving a second coat of Barley on the tomb,
and omitting that of Vincent.

fDugdale's Yorkshire Visitation, 166. Harl. MSS. G070, f. 234. Add. MSS. 28,113,
pp. 4 and 8. ( Elections, vol. vi., p. 1>9G. The different pedigrees reL;:

the Barleys and their alliances show various discrepancies, and cannot be made to
thoroughly harmonise, but we believe the statements in the text may be relied upon,
as they have been revised by a competent genealogist.

68 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

pieces that once formed the memorial of the Kobert Barley who
died m 1532. The wife of this Kobert Barley, for whom a vacant
space seems to have been left on the inscription, was not destined
to find a resting place in the humble walls of Barlow chapel,
but at the collegiate church of All Saints, Derby, when she had
attained, by her fourth marriage, to the dignity of Countess of
Shrewsbury. Fuller thus writes of her first marriage : — " This
beautiful and discreet lady was married at fourteen years of age,
to Robert Barley of Barley, in com. Derb. Esquire, who was also
very young, and died soon after (viz., on the 2nd of February,
1532, 2-4 H. VIII.) but his large estate was settled on her and
her heirs." The manor of Barlow remained in this family till
the reign of James I., when James Barley left issue two daughters,
his co-heiresses, who married Linney and Bullock. Of the younger
branch that settled at Dronfield Woodhouse, mention is made in
the description of the church of Droufield.

Though there is now only this single tomb to the family of
Barley, their memorials were formerly numerous. Bassano says,
that there were, in his days, several flat gravestones of the
Barleys in the south-east corner of the church, " now seated
over ; " and another account, a century later, speaks of the effigy
of a lady with an angular head-dress, and nothing remaining of
the inscription but the date, " MDC." * One of these burials
within the church is specially recorded by Mr. Arthur Mower, of
Barley, in an old memorandum book, still extant, and from that
source we find that one portion of the church was called the
"Lady Quire" — probably the south-east corner.

" 1558. Mrs. Jane Berisfort, wife of Mr. Denis Barley, and
mother of Mr. Peter Barley, of Barley, Esq., died the Thursday,
being 18 April, about 8 of the clock aforenoou, and was buried
on Friday in the ladys quire at Barley, and dined all neigh-
bourhood and all young folks, and dealt penny dole to the poor.t
Mr. Denis Barley made a funeral dinner for his wife 12 May and
Sonday in ye year aforesaid, and there was at the dinner Mrs.
Fretchille, widow, Mrs. Foljambe, Mr. Linacre and wife, Mr.
Brown, Mr. Bullock, Mr. Stevenson, and dyvers other substantial
folks."

*Lyson's Collections. Add. MSS. 9463.

fThe funeral feasts of our ancestors were often on an incredibly large scale. This
fashion prevailed to such an extent during the sixteenth century, that it caused a
foreigner to remark of us that, it cost more to bury a wife than to portion a daughter.

BARLOW. O'J

A few years later occurs the following entry : —

" 1588. Mr. James Barley did pave the Ladys Quire, and
made him a new pew in it afore Whit Sunday."*

The Church Kegisters, which commence in 1573, also contain
an extract from the same source, which reads as foUows : —

" I find in an antieut manuscript belonging to George Mower,
of Woodseats, Esquire, as followeth, viz. : —

" Mem. That the lead off Barley Church were taken off by Mr.
George Barley, the year of our Lord God 1563, and had to the
value of 6 Fodders t and more, and promised for to lay so much
on again. "T. Walker, min : ibirn.

" January the 29th, 1739."

Near the centre of the floor of the nave are two slabs, about
five feet in length by eighteen inches broad, which are incised
with full-length sepulchral crosses. In one instance the arms of
the cross are rounded at their" terminations, and in the other
they are pointed, but in both cases they lack any further symbol
or inscription. Crosses having the heads formed of various
arrangements of circular lines are considered to be of earlier date
than those of the plainer Latin device, and we are inclined to
attribute these stones to the fourteenth century.

This ancient structure had a narrow escape from complete
demolition in 1784, when a Brief was granted to obtain funds
for a new building. This Brief speaks of " the parochial chapelry
of Barlow being a very ancient structure," in very bad and ruinous
condition, roof rotten, steeple in great danger of giving way ; the
whole building, indeed, "in daily danger of falling down, so that
the inhabitants cannot attend but at hazard of their lives." It
is further reported that the chapel and steeple are incapable of
being repaired, and that the whole must be taken down and re-
built at an estimated cost of £1020 4s. Id.J This Brief, like so
many others, evidently failed to produce the requisite sum, and
therefore the building was only patched. From the prominent
mention of the steeple, it may be assumed that the predecessor of
the present clumsy beh1 turret was of more imposing dimensions.

On the south side of the churchyard may be noticed the steps
and part of the plinth of the old cross, to which a horizontal sun-
dial is now attached.

•Add. MSS. nr,7l. f. 341.

fTlie fodder or father was an old weight equivalent to about 19 cwt. It seems to
have been only used in connection with lead. In the inventory taken in 1539, at the
dissolution of Repton Priory, mention is made of "39 fother of lead £4 the fother."
The term is still used in the sale of lend.

* The original of this Brief is deposited in the British Museum.

petifljipf

HE Abbey of Beauchief, or de hello capite, is popularly
supposed to have derived its name from the "fair-head"
of the martyred Archbishop, Thomas a-Becket, to whom,
in conjunction with the Virgin Mary, the Abbey was dedicated,
and a representation of whose murder appeared on the conventional
seal. But the wording of the charter of the foundation — " locum qui
dicititr Beuchef in Dorheseles," conclusively disproves .this assumption,
and we have to adopt the more prosaic conclusion that the Abbey
was named after a head of land overlooking the dale, which had
been styled by the Normans Beauchief, on the same principle as
the place-names of Beauchamp, Beaumont, and Beaurepaire (now
Belper.) The scribes of the twelfth century appear to have been
unusually arbitrary, even for them, in the spelling of this name,
for in the very charters it appears under seven different guises —
Beuchef, Beauchef, Beuchyffe, Beuchelf, Beachiff, Baucheff, and
Bewcheffe. The Abbey was founded by Robert Fitz-Eanulph, who
gave to it the churches of Alfreton and Norton in Derbyshire, Edwal-
ton in Nottinghamshire, and Wirneswold in Leicestershire.* He
also endowed it with lands at Norton, and both his son and grand-
son were among its subsequent benefactors. Robert Fitz-Banulph
was a man of high position in the Midland Counties, for he was
for several years Sheriff of the united counties of Nottinghamshire
and Derbyshire, an office previously held both by his father and
his brother William.

* We have not only availed ourselves in this sketch of the information to be found
in Dugdale and Tanner, and in the invaluable History of Beauchief Abbey, by Dr.
Pegge, but have also consulted the Chartulary of the Monastery, a copy of which is
preserved in the seventh volume of Pegge's MSS. Collections. There is, too, in
the Cottonian MSS. (Caligula, A. viii. ff. 4—27) a valuable thirteenth century
calendar of benefactors of the Abbey, with continuations. Dr. Pegge's posthumous
•work on the Abbey, published by J. Nichols, in 1801, is of no little rarity, a note by
a later hand in the MSS. at the College of Arms, informing us that the greater portion
of the stock was destroyed by an accidental fire shortly after publication.

74 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

By another popular error, the founder of this Abbey was long
held to have been one of the four knights engaged in the murder
of Thomas a-Becket. Dugdale, the historian of English monasteries,
appears to have been the first to commit this error, and he was
followed by Tanner, Fuller, and a host of minor writers. Dugdale
says: — " Robert Fitz-Eanulph, Lord of Alfreton, Norton, and Marn-
ham, was one of the four knights who martyred the blessed Thomas
a-Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, and afterwards founded the
monastery of Beauchief, by way of expiating his crime, in the reign
of Henry the Second." This mistake has, however, been conclusively
disproved by Dr. Pegge in his History of the Abbey ; though Glover's
History of Derbyshire, and Ehodes' Peak Scenery cling to the error.
The four knights who really committed the murder were Eeginald
Fitzurse, William de Tracy, Hugh de Morville, and Eichard Brito.
As to the date of the foundation of the Abbey, Bishop Tanner
writes positively of the year 1183; this may have been the date
when it was completed or consecrated, but the original charter
points to an earlier date. This charter, though undated, is wit-
nessed by Albinos, Abbot of Darley, who died in 1176, and as
Becket was not canonized till 1172, the year of the foundation lies
between these two periods. The Abbey was placed in the hands
of a Premonstratensian abbot and canons, who were probably
brought here from Welbeck, in Nottinghamshire. The Premonstra-
tensians, or white canons, were first instituted in 1120, and reached
England in 1143, so that Beauchief must have been one of their
earliest landed properties. A hundred years later, in the reign of
Edward I., they had, in England only, no less than twenty-seven
monasteries. The following is a list of the Abbots of Beauchief,
so far as they are to be gathered from Dugdale and other
authorities : —

Jordanus 16 Henry III.

Gilbert 1237.

Stephen temp. Henry III.

Ealph 1285.

Roger before 53 Henry III.

Wilh'am de Folkinghain circa 1812.

Eobert de Eadclyffe 24 Edward III.

John Norton 1393.

Eobert 22 Eichard II.

William Gresley obiit 1433.

John Girdon . 1443.

BEAUCHIEF ABBEY. 75

John Downham 1458. (In this year Downham, toge-
ther with seven of his monks, was deposed for
divers notorious crimes.)

John Swift 1458.

John Swift II 1472.

John Norton II 1478.

John Norton III 1496.

John Greenwood 1561.

John Sheffield 1562.

Sheffield was the last abbot, and he was probably dead before the
dissolution of monasteries, as no annuity to him is mentioned in
the Beauchief accounts. At the time of its suppression in 1536,
the revenues were valued at £126 3s. 4d., and the site was
granted in the following year to Sir Nicholas Strelley for £223. In
the reign of Charles II. the estate came by marriage to Edward
Pegge, whose descendants still possess it.

The whole of the Abbey was dismantled and left in ruins at
the time of its dissolution, and its destruction was rendered still
more complete by the erection of Beauchief Hall in its immediate
vicinity by Edward Pegge, the monastic buildings affording a con-
venient quarry of stone already hewn. The bells of the church,
five in number, were moved, it is said, to the parish church of
Darfield, in Yorkshire, but only two out of the six in that belfry are
sufficiently ancient to have been at Beauchief. These two bear the
following inscriptions : — Ut Campana bene sonat Antonius monet —
Campana tonit in multis annis

The only remains of the Abbey now extant, beyond the nu-
merous grass-grown hillocks that mark the extensive foundations
of the old buildings, are the western tower and a patched-up
portion of the nave of the church. We cannot glean much about
the size, and condition, or architecture of the Abbey, but it is
said that the various buildings covered an acre of ground. The
Abbey was surrounded by a small park of two or three hundred
acres, and on the north side were the fish pands — an invariable
adjunct of our ancient monasteries. It also appears that there
were attached to it the usual offices pertinent to monastic esta-
blishments. The Chapter House is mentioned in a deed of 1461,
and in the inventory, taken on the 2nd August, 1536, the follow-
ing distinctive parts of the building are enumerated — chapell, hall,
buttrye, kyttchyn, bakhous, Abbats chambre, Koger Eyres cham-
bre, Greene Leyff charnbre, chapell chambre, gatehous chambre,

76 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

and sekmau chambre. The inventory also speaks of a pair of
organs, of candlesticks, crosses, and a multitude of vestments. We
also know that the church contained, amongst others, altars
specially dedicated to the Holy Cross, to St. Mary, and to St.
Catherine.

William Bullock, the impropriator of the tithes of the ad-
joining parish of Norton, made a demand for the tithes of
Beauchief in the middle of the seventeenth century, and from
the statement of his case we learn that "here at Beauchiefe,
together with the abbie, was likewise built up a very spatious
church having a faire chancel, where was an altar, and a large
steeple where were five bells, and likewise a coemeteriurn or
churchyard where (as also in the church) corps were interred
whilst it was an abbie and since." It would appear that this
" very spatious church " was in thorough ruin in the seventeenth
century, and that a small portion of the nave was repaired
by Edward Pegge at the time that he built his mansion. From
that time to the present it has been used as the church of the
district. The tower, even now, forms a stately and picturesque
object in the landscape, and its appearance must have been much
more striking before it lost about one third of its height. Ehodes,
in his Peak Scenery, says that it is supposed that the tower has
been somewhat curtailed of its fair proportions, but adds, " the
parapet with which it is surmounted is, in my opinion, an
existing evidence against the correctness of such a supposition."
But had Mr. Ehodes ventured to the present summit of the
tower, his opinion would have been quickly changed, and,
without such an ascent, an eye versed in the proportions of
ecclesiastical architecture must at once miss a portion of its
original altitude. The views published by the brothers Buck,
in 1774, give a large engraving of Beauchief Abbey as it
appeared in 1727. The upper stage of the tower was then in
existence, though in a decaying state. It is represented with
two pinnacles, those on the west side remaining, and the
pointed bell-chamber windows have two principal lights, with a
quatrefoil piercing above them. The elegant diagonal buttresses
at the western angles of the tower, the large west window
with its reeded mouldings and remains of geometrical cusping,
the two traceried lights to the turret stairway, and the ogee-
shaped doorway on the north side, all point to the Decorated
period, probably early in the style about 1330, as the time of

BEAUCHIEF ABBEY. 77

rection. The large doorway, however, below the west
window, with its isolated shafts now broken away, partakes of
the early English style, and must have formed part of an
older tower of the previous century.* Extending north and
south, in a line with the tower, there have of late years been
built up two tolerably perfect doorways, removed there from
other parts of the ruin. That on the north is a round-headed
Norman archway, and that on the left of the Early English
style, with three small shafts in the jambs on each side. We
have before us, as we write, six different plates of Beauchief
Abbey, engraved during the last hundred years, and none of
them pourtray any doorways in the position these two now
occupy. But one, bearing the date 1787, shows a piece of
ruin a few yards to the south of the tower containing two
doorways, and these remains no longer exist. Doubtless, then,
they were removed thence to their present position. Several
of these engravings show on the east side of the tower
the projecting weather-moulding stones of the old high-pitched
roof, now hidden by ivy, the angle of which is level with the
present summit of the tower, thus affording an additional proof,
if one were needed, of its greater original height. The roof of
the present church is very low, not even nearly so high as
the archway out of the tower, which has had to be built up
at the top. There is no window in the north wall of the
church, and the one on the south is a s ami -circular Norman
one, which, with the doorway already mentioned, seems to be
the only trace of the first abbey built by Kobert Fitz-
Ranulph. Examining this window from the exterior, it appears
as if it had originally served as a doorway ; but be this as it
may, there is no doubt of its construction being Norman. The
east window has four main lights, and is a fair specimen of
early Decorated. It has, of course, been moved here, but per-
haps occupied the same position in the old chancel.

There is little worthy of note in the ulterior of the build-

* Mr. Gordon M. Hills, who described the Abbey to the members of the British
Archzeological Association, in the spring of 1874, says of this tower : — " It is a very
fine and massive structure, 26 to 27 feet square in plan, built early in the thirteenth
century, to which the massive buttresses were added in the next century. It had a
very fine west window of this later period, now blocked up, etc." Journal of the
Archceological Association, vol. xxx. p. 4'2(i. It certainly may be true that the base of
this tower is of the same size, and contains much of the same masonry as when it
was erected in the thirteenth century, but the string course mouldings and joints of
the masonry are continued from the buttresses into the central part of the tower in
such a way as to prove that it must have been almost entirely rebuilt, with the
exception of the western doorway, during the fourteenth century.

78 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

ing, which is most unpleasantly damp and mouldy. The tower
now contains a solitary bell swinging from a beam at its sum-
mit. It can be seen from the basement, as the tower has
now no intervening flooring. A trap -door from the roof gave
us a tolerably near view of the bell, and it appeared destitute
of all inscription. The great pew on the south side of the
church, as well as other of the fittings, are those that were
placed here when the Pegges succeeded to the estate, as is
proved by the frequent repetition, carved in the oak, of the
arms of Strelley and Pegge. Their arms are respectively, Paly
of six, ary., and az. : and arg., a chevron between three piles,
sa. These arms are repeated upon monuments on the walls
and in the pavement to various members of the Pegge family,
there being no traces whatever of any earlier sepultures. Al-
though there are now no remains of their monuments, we
know that several distinguished and wealthy persons were here
buried. Amongst them may be mentioned Thomas de Furni-
val, of Worksop, the fourth of that name, who died on the
14th of October, 1339.

"We do not, as a rule, transcribe in these pages any memo-
rials of a post-reformation date, but as the inscription on the
monument to Edward Pegge has not appeared to our know-
ledge .in any hand-book, and as he was the restorer of this
church to its present condition, it may be thought worth while
here to reproduce it : —

" M.S.

Edwardus Pegge de Bello Capite in agro Derbiensi armiger,
Edwardi Pegge de Ashbourne filii natu majoris, uxorem duxit
Gertrude, unicam Gulielmi Strelley in Comitate Nott. Armigeri
filiam, atque ex ea filios suscepit 5, filiasque 9, Anrtaru,
Madam, Gertrude, Gervas, Goodeth, Elizabethan!, Edwardum,
Dorotheam, StreUey, Christopherum, Saram, Catherinam, et
Francescam, iteratis nuptiis habuit Annani sororem Gulielmi
Clarkson de Kirton in agro Nott. armigeri. Hie ille vir, bonus
spectat® probitatis pietatisque, domi pater optimus, sedulusque
pacis conservator foris, diem obiit supernam mensis

Decembri A. Dni, 1679, Mi. 58, atque inter utramque uxorem
hie subtus jacet. Sepulcbrale hoc marrnor parentum memoriae,
denegetum nimis diu, Francesca Pauli Webster vidua numerosae
prolis sola jam superstes anno 1731 fieri fecit."

BEAUCHIEF ABBEY. 79

There is an interesting memorial of the old Abbey Church of
Beauchief, preserved at the seat of the Foljambes, at Osberton,
in Nottinghamshire. It is a representation in alabaster of the
murder of Thomas a-Becket, and is slightly mutilated. It is sup-
posed to have been the Abbey altar-piece, and it is also concluded,
from the arms on the three escutcheons below it, that it was
presented to the church by Sir Godfrey Foljambe after his second
marriage with Avice Ireland, about the year 1350."

In William Wyrley's copy (taken in 1592) of Flower and
Glover's Visitation of 1569, occur the following notes respecting
this Abbey. " The abbey of Bello Capite, commonly called
Beachie or Beuchiffe, was founded by Eobert, the son of Ealf,
which lyvcd in the tyme of W. Co. This Eobert was Baron
of Alfreton in Darbishier and Norton in the mores in
Staffordshier, he had issue Will. Lord of Alfreton and Norton,
whoe had issue Wil. Baron of Alfreton, whoe had issue Eobert
Lord of Alfreton, whoe had issue Thomas that died without
issue, and 2 daughters, Ales married to Will, the sonn of Wil,
the sonn of Eobert Chaworth, the other daughter Amicia, was
married to Eobert Lathum of the countie of Lancashier ; sythene
the submersion, it cam to Sr. Anthonie Styrley Knight, whos
sonn Anthonie esquier now possesses it, in the Euines of the
glasse these three escutchyons, it is placed in the northwest
angle of Darbyshier near unto which ryseth a little ryll that
runneth into the Don, it is seated after the manner of the
Eeligiouse houses verie comodiouslye." f The arms are Alfreton
(two chevrons), and a semee of fleur-de-lis, and three lions
passant guardant for France and England.

The report of the Parliamentary Commission of 1650 con-
tains the following reference to Beauchief Abbey : — " Beachiffe.
An Abby place without cure of souls. Wee think these places
(Totley, Dore, and Beauchief) fitt to be united and made a
parish, and the minister to officiate in Beachiffe and Dore alternis
risi hits."

There are several old traditions connected with this Abbey, still
current in the neighbourhood. One of these tells how Oliver

* The same arms (Foljambe and Ireland) appear on a mural momiment in the
south aisle of Bakewell Church, where Sir Godfrey founded a chantry. He died in
1375. A small but accurate engraving of this altar-piece appears at page 104 of
lI"o;/-xo/>, the DI//.-CI-IJ, nut! S/imrood Forest, & beautifully illustrated work, recently
published by Mr. "White, of Worksop.

fHarl. MSS. 6592, f. 110. The ' submersion' means, we suppose, the dissolution
of the monasteries.

80 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Cromwell blew off the top of the tower with cannons planted on
Bole Hill, though the upper portion of the tower, as we have
already seen, was in its right place nearly a century after the
days of the Commonwealth ! whilst another legend narrates, how
" Big Tom of Lincoln " originally hung in this tower, and was
stolen by night, being conveyed away by a team of six horses,
with their shoes reversed to baffle pursuit.

on.

pigeon.

HE first historical notice of Beighton occurs in the will of
"Wulfric Spott, 1002, by which he largely endowed the
Abbey of Burton. Lysons, following Dugdale, says that
the manor of Beighton was given to that monastery ; but this is
erroneous, althoitgh Beighton is mentioned in the will. The
words are: — "I bequeath to Morcare the land at Walesho, and
that at Theddlethorpe, and that at Whitwell, and that at Clown,
and that at Barlborough, and that at Duckinauton, and that at
Mossborough, and that at Eckington, and that at Beig/tton, and
that at Don caster, and that at Morleston." *

There is but little difficulty in tracing the successive lords of
the manor of Beighton from the Conquest downwards, but there
is no proof that the church was ever held by the same persons
as possessed the manor. No mention is made of a church here
at the time of the Domesday Survey, and the earliest notice that
we have found of it is in the year 1345, when Edward III. granted
the advowsou of the church of Beighton to " Johannes Darcy le
Pier.''t The Darcy s had a few years previously become possessed
of the adjacent manor of Eckington. Philip Darcy died seized
of this advowson in the following reign, and John Darcy in the
reign of Henry VI. J But in the year 1455 it passed out of this
family, and was given by Sir James Strangeways and Elizabeth
his wife to the Priory of Mountgrace, in Yorkshire. § Elizabeth,
the wife of Sir James Strangeways, was the eldest daughter and
co-heiress of Philip Lord Darcy. She was a wealthy heiress, and
brought to her husband, amongst other property, the manor of

* Diplomatariinn Anglicum JEvi Saxonici, p. 545.

t Rot, Pat., 18 Edw. III., M. 2.

J Inq. rost Mort. 22 Ric. II., No. 17 ; 10 Hen. VI., No. 40.

§ Rot. Pat., 34 Hen. VI.: Pegge's Collections, Vol. v., p. 181.

5-i DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Eckington. At the dissolution of the monasteries, Henry VIII.
granted the rectory and advowson of Beighton to Eobert and
William Swift, of Eotherham.

The Church, which is dedicated to St. Mary, consists of nave,
north and south aisles, south porch, chancel, and enihattled
tower at the western end. Although there does not appear to have
been any church here at the time of the taking of the Domesday
Survey (1087), yet from the details which were brought to light
during the recent restoration, it is obvious that no great space of
time elapsed under our Norman kings before one was here
erected. The archway into the chancel was a pointed one, but
the restoration necessitated the removal of the plaster with which
it was encumbered, and it was then found that there was an older
arch above it. This older arch proved on examination to
be a fine semi-circular one of the Norman period. It was unfor-
tunately in such a state of decay as to compel its being taken
down, and but little of the original now remains. The old propor-
tions and mouldings have, however, been followed, and the arch
with its triple line of zigzag ornament presents a bold and effec-
tive appearance. Owing, too, to the rest of the interior having
been carefully cleansed of plaster and whitewash, the freshness
of the stone does not look incongruous, and an tinin quiring ob-
server might easily imagine that he was looking upon the original.
We failed to observe any other trace in the edifice itself of the
building which stood here in the days of the Normans. In the
course of the recent restoration it was also found necessary to
take down the walls of the chancel, and the south aisle, to the
foundations. In these pages instances will often occur of the ruth-
less way in which our forefathers treated the actual memorials of
the dead, by breaking up the very grave-stones for the purposes of
building. This sad barbarism was indulged in by former
church-architects at Beighton. Several stones sculptured with
incised foliated crosses had been used for window-sills and other
purposes. They were much broken up, and the only one that
was found tolerably entire was used as a sill for the south window
of the chancel. As this stone had been cut to the requisite
shape, it was thought best to preserve it by appropriating it to a
similar use, and it may now be seen in a window of the north
aisle. These stones were destitute of inscription, but we are in-
clined to attribute them to a date nearly coeval with the original
structure. The utilizers of these monuments of the dead do not
appear to have been scrupulous in merely applying them to

BEIGHTON. 85

ecclesiastical purposes — a use which an elastic conscience might
possibly condone — for another of these stones is still to be seen
under some heavy masonry in the cellar of the Vicarage.

Another relic, perhaps of the same date, received an honour-
able burial some eight years ago at the hands of the late vicar.
The old font, of rude construction, had been long used to receive
water from a spout on the outside of the church, and, as it was
too far decayed to be worth recovering, it was saved from further
desecration by being consigned to the earth, a decent example
that might well be followed in other places.* This font was sup-
posed to have been of the same date as the oldest part of the
structure ; but this is highly improbable, as a visitor in 1816
describes it as " a plain octagon," a shape never used by the
Normans. t Glover in speaking of this church, in his History and
Gazetteer of the County of Derby, says : — " On an oak beam in the
roof the date of 1100 is visible, which is only thirty-four years
after William the Conqueror desolated the country." The whole
of the roof, however, has now been renewed, and no such date
was discovered; but on the boss of one of the beams was a date
that looked like 1500. This date is probably the correct one,
as the old roof was flat and of the Perpendicular period ; its
indistinctness may have misled Glover, and the fact of wood-
work of the Norman period being still extant is in itself highly
improbable.

The capitals of the side pillars or jambs of the archway into
the tower are of the Early English period, and of curious design
— a human head with widely extended mouth. The use of
animals in this style is generally regarded as a proof of the
lateness of the work, and this seems to have been executed
about the end of the thirteenth century. It may reasonably be
conjectured that at this date a new tower or spire was added to
the church, of which this is the only part extant.

The new tracery of the windows of the aisles is an exact fac-
simile of the old work both in drawing and size ; whilst the
old was actually replaced in the chancel. These latter windows
are of the Decorated style, but the remainder are for the most
part plain specimens of the Perpendicular period, to which date
also belongs the tower, as shown by the west window, belfry

* In the course of our Derbyshire rambles we have met with old church fonts
utilized for the following amongst other purposes — as a vase for garden plants,
as the washing basin of a village school, as a drinking trough for cattle, as a pickling
bowl for pork, as a sink in a public-house, and for a purpose which cannot here be
named.

tLysous. Add. MSS.,

86 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

windows, and pinnacles. The date of the roof has been already
mentioned. Its condition was such as to necessitate the removal
of the whole. The bosses, which were carved with the shields of
the Diocese and local families, were preserved, but such was their
state of decay that they have since almost crumbled to pieces. We
have also been informed that there was on the beams of the old
roof an image of a late period, supposed to represent the patron
Saint, the Virgin Mary. The roof has now been wisely raised to
what was probably its former pitch in the decorated period, and
the walls above the side aisles have been pierced with quatrefoil
clerestory windows to give further light.

Previous to its restoration the church was in a fearful state of
dilapidation, the chancel actually falling down. The church had
been re-pewed at the commencement of the century, and this had
been effected, as we might imagine, hi a most unsightly manner.
It is supposed, too, that at this time the floor of the church was
raised till it was nearly half-way up the columns, for what object
it is almost impossible to conceive. To restore it to its original
level, hundreds of loads of gravel had to be carted out of the church !
A western gallery that completely blocked out the tower had also
to be removed.

Many interesting details were found in the course of the altera-
tions. Chief amongst these is the old altar stone. The slab was
found buried in what was used as the vestry at the end of the
north aisle. It is quite perfect, and still bears the marks of con-
secration— the five crosses. The dimensions of the stone are six
feet three inches by two feet eight, and it is now utilized for its
original purpose, having been placed on an oaken frame-work made
out of timber from the old roof. In the north wall of the chancel
is a piscina, and the low window-seat of the adjacent window answers
for the sedilia, being divided by some modern stone work. On the
opposite side is the almery* for the holy vessels. It is a plain

*When these notes first appeared, a critic quarrelled with the orthography of
"almery," suggesting "aumbry," to which suggestion the following reply was made.
"The spelling almery has been adopted advisedly. I do not know that I can refer
to a better authority than Parker's Glossary of Gothic Architecture, and it will be
there found that he prefers Almery, though he also gives as other forms, Aurnery,
Aumbry, Ambry, Ambre, and Ambrie. It was not, however, on this authority alone
that I determined to use that form of spelling, which is, perhaps, the least usual in
the Northern counties, but I adopted it after a patient investigation into its etymology.
It would be easy to fill pages with a disquisition on the origin and meaning of this
word, and its supposed derivations, but suffice it to say that I became convinced of
its connection with alms and almsgiving when used in connection with ecclesiastical
buildings. I therefore decided to retain the ' 1 ' as a proof of what I thought to be
its origin, and this the more so, as Skinner and other early etymologists derive the
word, when deprived of the '!,' from arms and not alms, saying that it denoted a
place where arms were deposited during a feast, in case of a sudden surprise ; and
surely this is not a desirable association to link with the temples of the Prince of
Peace."

BEIGHTON. 87

square recess, and has now been renovated, fitted with a door, and
put once more to its original use.

At the east end of the south aisle there lias evidently been a
side chapel or chauntry, which is shown by a plain piscina and a
niche for a saint. There is also, in the projecting wall to the north
of this side altar, a large square opening, which was filled up with
stones and rubble until the recent alterations. This has served the
purpose of a squint to certain worshippers who would have otherwise
been obstructed in their view of the side altar by this projecting
wall.

Tradition speaks of there having been another side altar at the
end of the north aisle, but of this, though highly probable, there is
no trace to be found. In the Chantry Rolls there is a record of
one at Beighton, whose altar must have been in one or other of
these aisles.

" The Chauutrye founded by dyverse persons which gave lands
unto Our Ladye's alter for fyndynge a priste to synge or saye masse
daylye and other devyne servyce cvis. ije?. clere ciiijs. \d. besydes
vs. iiijof. rente resolute. Hen. Jervis chauntrye prist. Stock iiijs.
ixrf."

Francis Wortley seems to have obtained a grant of these chantry
lands, for, at his death (25 Elizabeth), the inquisition gives him
five messuages, five tofts, five gardens, three hundred acres of
land, one hundred acres of meadow, and " parcell of the chantry
of St. Mary," at Beighton, held of the Queen."

Amongst the rubble of the walls of the chancel and south aisles
much old broken glass was found. The best of the fragments were
placed in the foliations of the windows of the north and south
aisles.

The church is by no means rich in ancient monuments, but there
is one of interest in the chancel. At the far end of the chancel,
on the north side, there is let into the floor a large slab of gritstone,
incised with a boldly-defined floriated cross. The cross stands upon
a pedestal of three steps, the highest one being inscribed with the
monogram I.H.S. Round the margin of the etone runs the follow-
ing inscription : — "Orate pro anima domini Johannis Tynker quondam
vicari de Beighton : cujus corpus hie jacet et anime propitietur Deus.
An D. Milessimo quadragintessimo octogessimo." This stone, com-
memorating John Tynker.t a former rector of Beighton, who died

*Pegge's Collections, vol. i.

t" Tynker" in Glover, but spelt "Tindri- " by Bussnuo.

88 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

in 1418, formerly stood endways in the vestry, but at the time of
the church's restoration it was very properly moved to what must
have been, owing to his ecclesiastical functions, the actual place (or
very nearly so) of his original sepulture. The incised parts of
sepulchral slabs of this description are usually filled up with black
mastic, or some dark-coloured composition. It is, however, worthy
of note that the interstices of this stone appear to be simply filled
up with lead.

There is another old monumental slab just under the arch that
divides the chancel from the vestry. When removed at the time of
the alterations it was found to be in several pieces and much
dilapidated. It is a rude stone with shears engraven on it. The
inscription cannot now be traced, but Glover tells us that it is to
the memory of Eichard Boswette (or Dowcette) and Johanna his
wife, and that it bears the date of 1501. Lysons says that there
is "in the parish church an ancient monument without date for
Eichard Bosville," and then adds that "Bassano's volume of church
notes mentions the monument of Edward Dowcett, Esq., 1501." This
surely is a strange confusion of one and the same monument.

On referring to Bassano's notes, taken about 1710, it appears that
the vicar's monument was even then in the chancel, and the In-
scription on the other old slab, which then stood in the south aisle,
against the south wall, was : — " Hie jacet Edwardus Dowcett armiger
et Johanna uxor ejus, Mill : quingenteshno primo. Quorum anima-
tum propicietur Deus. Amen." Lysons' MSS., on the contrary,
(1816) gives the name as " Eicardus Boswell," but explains that
the inscription was much hidden by pews, so that it will be safer
to accept the earlier reading.

Bassauo mentions, too, a brass to the memory of William Jessoppe,
vicar of Beighton, 1667, and gives some further details, from which
we extract the following. The east end of the north aisle was then
divided off from the rest of the church, and termed " Linacre's
quire." * Upon one beam of the roof he noted a shield with two
chevrons, which might be either the arms of Musard of Staveley,
or, two chevrons, az., or (which is more probable) the arms of
Alfreton adopted by Chaworth, az., two chevrons, or. On a beam
over the Liuacre quire was a cross fleury, and on another " five

* The ancient family of Linacre formerly possessed property in Beighton through
alliance with the Hackenthorps of Hackenthorp, a hamlet of this parish. The
marriage by which this property came to the Linacres was that of William de Lyn-
acre (the son of Roger de Lynacre by his wife Matilda, the daughter of Eichard
Glnpwcll) with Cecilia, only daughter and heiress of John Hackenthorp. Harl. MSS.
1093, f. 102.

BEIGHTON. 89

water-bougets, oue iii ye fess poynt," which may have been intended
for the arms of Sacheverell, ary., on a saltier, az., five water-
bougets, or. This is the more probable as there is no coat bearing
simply five water-bougets in Pap worth's exhaustive work on British
Armorials.

In the churchyard he observed a cross of three greeves (steps)
with a high standing-stone. Of this cross, which stands near to
the porch on the south side of the church, only two of the steps
now remain.

The copy of Flower and Glover's Visitation, made by William
Wyrley in 1592, contains the following reference to Beighton : —
"Bighton on mile distant from this Eckington. In the Church
this one escotchiou of the famelie of Lynacar — sa., a chevron between
three escallops, arg., on a chief, or, three greyhounds' heads, erased,
of the field." *

No mention is made of Beighton in the Taxation Roll of Pope
Nicholas, but the vicarage was valued at £6 11s. 10£d. in the King's
Books.

The Parliamentary Survey of 1G50 reported of Beighton, that it
was a vicarage worth twenty marks per annum. The inipropriate
tithes, valued at threescore pounds, were held by Mr. George Pier-
point, who had to find the minister.

Mr. W. Jessop was then incumbent, and of him the Commissioners
report that he is " reputed uncleane and scandalous."

The tower contains a peal of five bells, all bearing the date of
1887.

*Harl. MSS. 6592, f. 111.

llarfctopll.

JF the church at Blackwell there is but little to say, as there
are hardly any fragments left of the old building. The
church of Blackwell was given by "\Yilliam Fitz Rauulph
to the Priory of Thurgarton early in. the reigu of Henry II.
(1154 — 1189). Edward IV. confirmed this grant by a charter,
dated Westminster the 8th of May, hi the 17th year of his
reign, and the tithes remained in the hands of that establishment
until the dissolution of the monasteries. * But the inquisition
taken at the death of Sir William Babington, Chief Justice of
the Common Pleas, in 1445, has an entry, which is rather puz-
zling, relative to Blackwell, though it certainly seems to imply that
the advowson of this church was not then in the hands of the
Priory of Thurgarton. The manor of Black weh1 was then divided
into two parts, the one called Sulney and the other Trussebut.
Sir William Babiugtou died siezcd of half of the former of
these manors, and also, in the words of the inquisition, of " Blak-
well alias Trussebut maner' et advoc' 5 eccliar.' " The number 5
and the contraction of the word following make it difficult to
explain this entry. Sir William Babington also held the advow-
sous of the adjacent churches of Piuxton and South Normanton,
but they are entered in the usual form of "advoc 'eccliae'." It
is impossible that there could ever have been five churches at
Blackwell or five ecclesiastics required to serve there ; and we
think that the most probable explanation is, that Sir WilHam
had purchased of the Priory of Thurgartou, for himself and his
heirs, the right of the five next presentations to the church of
Blackwell. t

* Mitchell's Derbyshire Collections. Add. MSS. 28, 108, f. 297.
t Inq. post Mort. 33 Hen. VI., No. 33.

94 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

The church, which is dedicated to St. Werburgh,* was rebuilt
in 1827-8, and consists of chancel, nave, and side aisles, and
lofty western tower. The style is a very poor and feeble imita-
tion of what is vaguely denominated " pointed gothic." The only
portion of the old building that seems to remain is the pillars, and
perhaps arches, on the north side of the nave. It is quite clear
that the bases of these pillars are old, though it is of course possi-
ble that they also were taken down and put up again. From docu-
ments in the church it appears that Archdeacon Butler complained
of the dangerous state of the church in 1823. In a letter
dated Shrewsbury, August 4, 1823, he writes to the churchwardens
that it is "in a very dangerous state. To attempt a temporary
repair would be a heavy and useless expense," and he recom-
mends them to take it down bodily and rebuild it. In a second
letter dated August 26, he by no means approves of the proposed
repairs : " The church has been suffered to go into a state of the
most ruinous decay. It is unsafe, nay highly dangerous for the
parishioners to assemble in it in windy weather, and any attempt
at temporary repairs will only subject them to further expense, as
it is impossible to do it effectually. The parishioners are highly
to blame, and have nothing but their own neglect to thank." He
then promises to help them to obtain a Brief towards the expenses,
and reminds them of the nearness of stone and lime. After much
further correspondence had been interchanged, and estimates pre-
pared for patching up the old building, the Archdeacon's patience
became exhausted, and on June 5th, 1824, a peremptory order
was issued. We, have, however, when looking at Blackwell
Church as it now is, a lingering grudge against Archdeacon Butler,
and cannot help wondering if something might not have been
done to retain any parts of the ancient fabric. From what we
could learn in the neighbourhood, it would seem as if the old
tower, and much of the body of the church had been of Norman
design ; and this is confirmed by the language of the Brief,t which
was granted in the 6th of George IV. That document speaks of
the church of Blackwell as " believed to be one of the oldest in

* St. Werburgh was a Princess of Mercia, and Abbess of the Convent of Ely. She
died in 699, and was buried at Hanbury in Staffordshire, but, on the approach of the
Danes to Eepton (within a few miles of Hanbury), two centuries later, her body was
removed to Chester. In addition to the church of Blackwell, and that at Derby,
there are only six churches dedicated to her memory, and in each instance they are
supposed to be of very early foundation. The Normans sternly suppressed, where-
ever it was possible, any veneration for the Saxon saints.

t The original of this Brief is at the British Museum. There is also a copy of
it, with a plan of the church, among the Derbyshire county records.

BLACK WKLL. 95

our comity of Derby." The Brief also states that the contem-
plated expenses for the new building, according to the estimate
of David Hodkin, " an able and experienced workman," would
amount to £1050 10s. Od., exclusive of old material.

Mr. David Hodkin was evidently anxious that his work should
be conspicuous, as is shown by the following letter to the church-
wardens, written, we suppose, when the work was about finished —
" I hope you and the parishioners will think with me that the
tower will remain in an unfinished state if the four pinnacles are
not put on, and you will always wish they had been done when
you see the effect so much different. The situation of the church
will cause them to be shewed at so great a distance. I cannot
take leave without a repetition of begging of you to raise your
spirits and say with one voice we will have them done and look
as respectful as any of our neighbours."

But the tower is still uncrowned with pinnacles, notwithstanding
this piteous appeal. It contains, hoAvever, three of the old bells.
The inscription of one, which is cracked, is not very legible ; we
only deciphered the words " ubi est sonus." The second one has
the bell-mark of Henry Oldfield, and bears the legend —

"Jesus be our spede, 1587."
The third reads —

" God save his Church, 1611."

In the south-east of the churchyard is part of an ancient cross,
that points to very early sepulture at this place. It is coeval with
the cross in Taddington churchyard, which it closely resembles.
It stands five feet out of the gound, and measures at the base six-
teen inches by twelve. The east and west sides are carved with
interlacing knot-work, and the north and south with circular braids.
The cross when perfect has been in two pieces, for at the top is
a square cut socket, about four inches deep, for the reception of
the upper part.*

The only other information that we have been able to find
with respect to the old church of Blackwell, is amongst the church
notes of Bassano. He visited Blackwell about the commencement
of the last century, when he noted the keys of St. Peter cut on
a large square stone above the belfry windows on the north side
of the tower. Inside the church, in the midst of the chancel, was

* We have no intention of entering upon any dissertation in the attempt to prove
the date of crosses of this design, which would be valueless unless very lengthy and
exhaustive, but the presence of this cross, taken in connection with the dedication
of the church, points to this site of ground having been used for worship several
generations prior to the Norman invasion.

96 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

a large tombstone bearing the following inscription : — " Here lyeth
William Ludlarn, Priest, sometime Vickar of Blackwell, who was
buryed 25 January, 1541." This stone is not now to be seen,
and was probably lost when the church was rebuilt. Nor is the
" broken piece of an antient monument, a lyon lying at the feet
of a man," extant, which then formed the side of a stile going
out of the churchyard.

The church of Blackwell was valued at £6 13s. 4d. in 1291, at
£5 4s. 2d. in the King's books, and at £14 by the Parliamentary
Commissioners.

lolso&pp.

N

•SSolsobpr.

|HE Manor of Bolsover formed a portion of the large estates
given by William the Conqueror to his illegitimate son,
William Peverel. It is probable that he was not only
the first to erect a castle here, on the site of the present one, but
that he was also the original founder of the Church. He died in
the seventh year of the reign of Stephen, 1142. The first historical
mention of the Church is that it was given by William Peverel
the younger to the Abbey of Darley* in the reign of Henry II.
(1154 — 1189). This William Peverel had been an accomplice in a
successful plot to poison Eanulph, Earl of Chester, shortly before
the death of Stephen, and on the accession of Henry II. the manor
and castle of Bolsover, together with all the other estates he held
under the crown, were forfeited. This then, it seems, would be
at the time when he handed over the Church, probably without
any choice, to the Abbey of Darley. He himself fled to the
monastery of Lenton, where he was shorn and habited as a monk,
but he subsequently escaped out of the country.

In the first year of the reign of John, by a charter dated at
Worcester on the 17th of April, the king granted " to God and
the Church of Bolsover, in free and perpetual alms," the tithes of
hay of the manor of Bolsover, and all the houses and lands which
had been taken from Robert Avenel, the former parson of the
church. From the two charters immediately preceding, the king
also granted certain lauds and mills to the then parson of Bolsover,
one Master Alan, who appears to have been on intimate terms with

* The chartulary or register book of Darley Abbey is preserved in the Cot-
toniau MSS. (Titus, c. ix.). There is also a transcript made by Mr. Cole in 1780
from another ancient copy, •which was then in the possession of Dr. Farmer, of
Emmanuel College, Cambridge. This latter is described by Mr. Cole as being a thin
vellum volume, in the hand of the time of Eichard II. Add. MSS. 5822, f. 150. See
also, -with respect to references to Bolsover in the chartulary, Add. MSS. 6668, f. 935,
and 6675, f. 293.

100 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

John. He is described in the first of these charters as " dilectus et
farniliaris clericus noster."* The tithes of hay were also confirmed to
the church in the reign of Henry III.;t but it appeal's from the register
book of Barley Abbey that the vicarage of Bolsover was endowed
with only the tithes of lambs and wool, and the obventions of the
altar except the chief mortuary. Perhaps this endowment of the
tithes of hay was forfeited or lapsed to the Abbey about the close
of the reign of Henry III., when Bolsover Castle, which had been
granted to the Earls of Chester, reverted to the Crown.

In the year 1215 the castle of Bolsover fell into the hands of
the insurrectionary barons, being carried by assault by William de
Ferrers, Earl of Derby. At the same time he re-took also the castle
of the High Peak, and was rewarded by being made governor of
both these fortresses. We then read that William de Ferrers con-
firmed the grant of the church of Bolsover to the monastery of
Darley.

The church, which is dedicated to St. Mary, consists of a nave,
chancel, south aisle, south porch, and tower at the west end,
surmounted by a low broached spire.

The semi-circular archway, leading from the nave into the chancel,
is the principal remnant of the old Norman building, for the church
has undergone many and considerable alterations in later times.
Much of the walls, both of the chancel and the nave, may very
probably be the same that were standing here in the days of
William Peverel, but neither windows nor doorways show any
trace of that style of architecture, unless it may be in part of the
tympanum over the small south door into the chancel, on which
is carved a representation of the crucifixion. The doorway itself
is post-reformation, as well as parts of the carving, but the part
bearing the crucifix seems to have belonged to a much earlier
date. £

The tower was built during the early English period of the
thirteenth century. Judging from the windows of the bell-chamber,
it seems that it was erected early in that style, when the small
Norman lights were not quite forgotten. The west doorway of the

* Eotuli Chartarum. 1 John, memb. 11.
t Rotuli Chartarum. 19 Henry III, memb.

J "When the British Archfeological Association were in Derbyshire in 18-51, a visit
was made to Bolsover, and an opinion is hazarded in the Journal, vol. vii., p. 317,
that this sculpture of the crucifixion may be of a date anterior to the Conquest. But
there seems no reason to assign it to an earlier date than that of the Norman period.
A good illustration of this sculpture and the upper part of the doorway is given in
the Journal.

BOLSOVER. 101

tower is a fair specimen of the style, and to the same period may
perhaps be attributed the doorway into the nave on the north side
of the church. The spire, which is somewhat low, rises imme-
diately from the wall of the tower, and is not surrounded by any
parapet or gutter — a style of spire that is usually distinguished as
broached. Though the spire appears to be of a rather later date
than the tower, we need not conclude that it did not form a portion
of the original design ; for it often thus occurred, as in modern
days, that many years intervened between the erection of a tower
and its completion by the addition of a spire.

The east window of the chancel is an effective specimen of the
Decorated period (circa 1320), and is similar in design to the one
occupying the same position in the adjacent church of Whitwell.
To this style, too, must be attributed the south porch, as well as
the four arches that separate the nave from the south aisle, sup-
ported on octagon pillars with plainly moulded capitals.

Two windows that light the north side of the nave are of the
Perpendicular period, in which style several small alterations or
additions appear to have been made ; but the whole of the body
of the church, and especially the chancel, with its flat plaster roof,
has suffered grievously, both inside and out, under the hands of
churchwardens of the last century. When these blundering, but
probably well-meaning, folk had effected all the barbarities which
the parish funds would allow, it was but seldom that they failed
to conspicuously emblazon then- names for the benefit of posterity.
Accordingly on a slab over the porch we find the names of Thomas
Robinson and Thomas Poynton, Churchwardens in 1773. To them,
therefore, may be safely assigned a considerable share of the
blemishes that now disfigure the church of Bolsover. Little did
these two good men think, when they gazed with pride on their
names sculptured over the doorway of their parish church, how
much their taste would be despised before a hundred years had
elapsed.

The chancel contains at least one object of great interest to the
antiquary. Fixed against the north wall is a large slab of stone,
about five feet long by three wide, rudely carved in very high relief.
This stone was discovered about the year 1704, at the north door
of the church, where, with its face downwards, it had served as
a step.*

* An engraving of this stone is given in Bateman's Vestiges of the Antiquities of
Derbyshire, p. 193. See also Gentleman's Magazine for 1786, p. 298; and Pegge's
Collections, vol. v., p. 91.

102 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

The sculpture, which is much mutilated, represents the Adoration
of the infant Jesus by the wise men from the east. Mary is repre-
sented as sitting upon a bed composed of straw, holding on her
knees the child Jesus. The head of the infant is wanting. The
three figures standing near the bed are probably intended to repre-
sent the wise men bearing their offerings of gold, frankincense,
and myrrh. The hands (and whatever they carried) of two of
these figures are broken off, but the centre one, who seems to be
kneeling behind the bed, is swinging a censer, representing, we
suppose, the offering of frankincense. In the background two
camels' heads, with a singularly human cast of countenance, pro-
trude their long necks over the manger. The sculpture was for-
merly richly coloured, traces of which still remain visible, and it
probably served as the altar-piece of the original church here
erected by William Peverel; for, from the costume of the figures
and the general style of the workmanship, it may safely be assigned
to a date as early as the first half of the twelfth century. Glover,
followed by Bateman and subsequent writers, supposes from the
situation in which it was found, that this stone was put there as
a place of safety during some of the frequent attacks that were
made on Bolsover Castle. But this seems, for many reasons,
about the most improbable suggestion that could well have been
devised to account for its position. This cumbersome mass of
stone would be the last thing that would be likely to be taken as
spoil by any marauding army ; and it certainly is most singular
that the inhabitants of Boleover, in their desire to preserve their
altar-piece, should first have mutilated it by knocking off the head
of the principal figure, and otherwise damaging it. If, too, they
wished to conceal it, we cannot believe that they were so " thick
in the yed " as to put this large slab, newly torn down from its
position, in a place so open to observation as the entrance to the
church itself! Does it not seem much more reasonable to con-
jecture that this sculpture, once highly reverenced and doubtless
superstitiously worshipped, was dragged down, disfigured, and placed
in the most contemptible position — a place where the foot of the
former worshipper must perforce tread upon it — at the time when
the Reformation spread through the land? This may have been
done, as it was in very numerous instances throughout England,
by the free will of a suddenly awakened people, or it may have
been enforced by the edicts against superstitious images issued by

BOLSOVER. 103

Henry VIII. 's minister, Cromwell, in 1538, and by Edward VI.
some ten years later. Even if it escaped all this, it could not fail
to come under the sweeping order of the Parliament in August,
1643, repeated in May, 1644, by which it was enacted that: — "All
Crucifixes, Crosses, and all other Images and Pictures of Saints in
any Churches, Chappells, or other place of Publick Prayer, shall be
taken away and defaced."

On the south side of the chancel there is a large slab, forming
part of the pavement, roughly incised with the full length figures
of a man and a woman, and having four smaller figures below
them. Bound the margin is an inscription, which is much defaced.
Part of this stone is covered by the chancel seats.

Bassano, who visited the church about 1710, makes mention of a
raised or altar tomb, which then stood on the south-west side of
the chancel, on which was the portraiture of a man with a dagger
by his side, and a woman, having five children kneeling below them.
Round the margin was the following inscription: — "Hie jacet Wil-
lielmus Woodliouse * et . . . . qui obiit v die mensis Martii,
A.D. MCCCX." Lysons' manuscript notes,t taken a century later,
mention a slab of sandstone in the chancel, much defaced, bearing
the effigy of a merchant and his wife, and an inscription com-
mencing "Hie jacet dns Thomas." But probably both of these
descriptions refer to the stone now in the chancel, the inscription
on which has been read in different ways, owing to its indistinct-
ness.

At the east end of the south aisle, against the south wall, is a
sepulchral recess, covered by an ogee-shaped arch, but much defaced.
A door in the east wall of the aisle opens into the Cavendish chapel.
On a stone over the outer entrance to the chapel is the date of its
erection, 1G18, and above it are the Cavendish arms and crest.

It is of small dimensions, about eighteen feet by fifteen, and choked
up with most costly and extravagant monuments of a would-be
Grecian order, composed of various-coloured marbles. The two
principal ones are to the memory of Sir Charles Cavendish, who
died in 1617, and Henry Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle, who died
in 1691.

Though not coming within the scope of these " Notes," we cannot

* The family of "Woodhouse settled at Glapwell in the year 1400. The heiress of
Thomas Woodhouse, about the latter end of the 17th century, married Hallowes.

tAdd. MSS., 9463.

104 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

resist quoting the following admirable inscription from the tomb of
Sir Charles Cavendish : —

"CHARLES CAVENDISH TO HIS SONS.

" Sonnes, seek not me among these polished stones ;
These only hide part of my flesh and bones ;
Which did they here so neat and proudly dwell,
Will all he dust, and may not make me swell.

" Let such as have outliv'd all praise
Trust in the tomhs their careful friends do raise ;
I made my life my monument and your's,
To which there's no material that endures,

" Nor yet inscription like it. Write hut that,
And teach your Nephews it to emulate ;
It will he matter loud enough to tell
Not when I died, but how I liv'd — farewell."*

The font at the west end of the church is interesting from the
admixture of the styles. Round the summit, which is of circular
shape, runs a cable moulding, that taken alone would point to the
Norman period ; but lower down it assumes an octagon shape, each
of the sides bearing a fleur-de-lis in relief, except the one facing
due east, which bears a shield charged with a Latin cross. The
font itself, independently of the base, is two feet three inches high,
and two feet six inches in diameter at the top.

The ulterior of the church is much disfigured with heavy south
and west galleries.

The tower contains a peal of four bells, inscribed as follows : —

1. "Hie carnpana sacra fiat Trinitati beata?." The founder's
mark is that usually attributed to Richard Mellour, of Nottingham,
who flourished at the close of the fifteenth century. The initials,
N.D., appear on each side of the shield bearing the bell mark.

2. " AH glori, honor, and prayse be given to God. 1585."

3. " Te Deum Laudamus. A.D. 1585." This, as well as the
preceding one, bears the bell mark of Henry Oldfield.

4. " Henry Ba(r)low. 1616. God save his church." The bell
mark is that of George Oldfield.

It appears there was a chapel in the old castle of Bolsover, for
William de Ferrers, Earl of Derby, settled an annual rent charge
of a mark of silver upon the chaplain. Whether there was any
intra-inural interment at this chapel or not cannot now be deter-
mined, but the presence of two very ancient gravestones, built into
the wall which supports the west side of the ten-ace of Bolsover
Castle, seems to favour the supposition. These two stones bear

* Full details of all the inscriptions in this chapel will be found in Collin's History
of the Cavendishes, pp. 22, 23.

BOLSOVER. 105

crosses in relief of a very singular, and, so far as we know, unique
design ; the shaft, which is considerably thicker towards the base,
being supported on an inverted crescent. The head of each cross
is formed of a cross patee. A careful engraving of these stones is
given by Major Eooke in Dr. Pegge's account of the castle, where
it is suggested that they are memorials of Christians who fell in
action during the assault on the castle in the thirteenth century.*
Might not the cross rising from the inverted crescent be intended
to typify the triumph of the Christian over the Saracen, and thus
point to the sepulture of those who had been previously engaged
in the Crusades ?

The annual value of the church of Bolsover was estimated, in
1291, at £13 Gs. 8d., and in the lung's Looks at £5 19s. 4d. The
Commissioners of 1650 reported that the vicarage was worth £10,
and that the impropriated tithes, formerly belonging to the Earl of
Newcastle, and out of which there was an augmentation to the
minister of £50, were worth £87. Thomas Foulkes then held the
vicarage and was returned as " disaffected."

At Glapwcll, also, a township of this parish, there was an ancient
chapel, of which no traces are now extant. We know of its exist-
ence from the Chartulary of Darley Abbey, which records an
agreement, made about the year 12GO, between the Abbot and the
inhabitants of Glapwell about roofing the chapel. They agreed to
give five acres of land, as an endowment, to keep it in repair.t
Probably it fell into disuse and was demolished at the Keformation,
for no mention is made of it by the Commissioners of 1650, who
reported in favour of the township of Glapwcll being united to
the neighbouring parish of Hault Hucknall.

* A Sketch of the History of Bolsover and the Peak Castles (1785), p. 8.
tCottonianMSS. Titus, c. ix., f. 116.

pampfon.

[HEBE was a chapel at Brampton, about the year 1100,
for it was at the commencement of the twelfth century
that William Eufus appropriated the church of Chester-
field, with its two dependent chapelries — "Wingerworth and Bramptou,
to the deanery of Lincoln. The present embattled edifice con-
sists of a nave, chancel, side aisles, south porch, and low western
tower, from which rises a short contracted spire. It is dedicated
to St. Peter and St. Paul, and not to the latter saint alone, as
is conclusively proved by the foundation deed of the chantry here
established. Glover, following Hall's History </ Chesterfield, says
that the present church is supposed, from an inscription on one
of its walls, to have existed in the year 1153. This mistake is
copied from a statement made on hearsay by Dr. Pegge, which
was published in the Topographica Brittanicw-' in 1787, and which
probably arose from the fact that there was formerly a tablet in
the church giving the particulars of the re- dedication in 1253.
The church was rebuilt and consecrated the day after the festival
of St. Margaret (July 21st), 1253, by Breudou, Bishop of Ardfert,
suffragan to Eoger de "Weseharn, Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry.
Ardfert was an ancient see of 'the Irish Church, united to the
diocese of Limerick in 1GGO. Eoger de Weseham was consecrated
Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry in 1245, and held that see until
12.")G, when he resigned on account of the infirmities of old age,
which had for several years incapacitated him from his duties.t

* The actual words arc : — " It is said there is an inscription on the walls of Bramp-
ton Chapel importing its erection in lloo." A Sylloge of the remaining authentic
Inscriptions relative to the erection of English Churches, p. 67.

t There are various references to Brampton in the different volumes of Pegge's
Collections in the College of Arms. At page 139, of vol. 5, the account of a re-
dedication of the church in 1253 is given in full, being copied from a book amongst
the records at Lincoln Cathedral, entitled Cartce tanyentes Dccimarum EccV
ledtce Alariee Lincoln. The deed, in which this naiTation occurs, relates to the
reservation of all rights to the mother church of Chesterfield, and is witnessed,
amongst others, by Hobert " Capellauus de YVyugerworth,'1 and by Stephen " Capel-
lauua de Brampton."

110 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Of the church that existed here prior to the year 1253 there is
at least one relic iu the round Noionan doorway that leads into
the church under the south porch. From the inside, however,
this appears to be an Early English doorway, and it affords a
curious instance of the blending, or rather the actual interlacing
of the two styles. The church erected in 1253 would, of course,
be Early English throughout, but beyond the half of this doorway
we noticed only one other trace of the style. This is to be found
in the base-stone of the small lancet window at the west end of
the south aisle, which is part of the original window. The curious
way in which the lower portion of that window was left, when the
top was cut off by a large square opening that served for a win-
dow, previous to the recent restoration, may be seen in the old
engravings of the church.*

The porch, which has a stone roof and an ogee-shaped archway,
is about a hundred years later, being of the Decorated period.
To this period, too, belongs the tower and spire, and certain but-
tresses of the chancel. The east side of the tower, and the gable
of the nave bear traces of the former high-pitched roofs that then
covered the church. Much of the actual walls of the church may
also be of this date, but the windows are now ah1 of the Perpen-
dicular period. The battlements of the nave, aisles, and chancel
are of the latter date. The spire is of an octagon shape, and is
broached at the base ; that is, it joins on to the tower without
the intervention of any parapet. It is ornamented with two tiers
of canopied windows.

On the exterior walls of the church are several curious stone
figures, some of the Early English period, and others of later date.
The principal ones are two effigies under canopies in the south
wall of the south aisle, representing St. Peter and St. Paul. The
latter is a bearded effigy holding a book and a sword, the former
holds a key and a book, and, on the top of the pinnacles of his
canopy, birds rest. There are three other heads and one small
figure on the same side of the church. At the east end of this
aisle, over the window, is a diminutive figure of the Virgin and
Child, whilst near it is a larger representation of our Saviour
seated under a canopy, with pierced hands and feet. Two hands
hold the canopy, which is clearly of Early English design.
Over the priest's door in the chancel is a corbel head, with foliage
proceeding from the corners of the mouth, a design very similar

* Ford's History of Chesterfield, p. 336.

BRAMPTON. Ill

to a head carved in wood over the east window of Wingerworth
Church. One of the eastern buttresses of the chancel bears in
relief the letter M, and the other has the cross daggers and a
key sculptured on a stone. There is an heraldic rose at each end
of the dripstone over the east window, but these stones are quite
unconnected with the rest of the masonry, and have formed part
of some earlier design.

The interior of the church, tih1 five or six years ago, must have
been singularly uninviting, for it was blocked up with large west
and north galleries, and the tower archway was completely built
up with masonry. Now, however, the tower is opened to the church
itself, and the pointed archways that separate the aisles from the
nave on each side are free from obstruction. At this time, too.
the Perpendicular tracery was restored to the windows of the
clerestory and the south aisle, which had previously been con-
verted into mere plain square-headed openings. Much of this
modern disfiguring of the church was probably done as late as the
third year of the reign of George IV., when a brief was obtained
for repairing the church.

The preamble to this brief states that •• the church of our
parish, or free chapelry, of Brampton is an ancient structure, is
greatly dilapidated, arising from damps and age, and the interior
parts, having been injudiciously arranged in the original planning
of them, will not accommodate the larger part of a now much
increased population ; in order to repair the church and benefi-
cially new model the interior, it becomes necessary to take down
the pulpit and reading desk, together with the galleries, pews, and
seats, and to rebuild and raise the same in a regular and uniform
manner, removing certain pillars, but supporting their places by
the erection of arches, to unroof and raise the north part, and to
make additional windows on the south front, to repair pavements
and burial ground, drains, spouts," &c., &c.* The estimated cost
of these alterations, drawn up by Jos. Hobson, builder, of Dron-
field, was £669.

At the east end of the north aisle, in the north wall, is a deep
piscina of a single drain with a trefoil head to the niche. The
doorway leading to the rood-loft was found, during the alterations,
at the end of this aisle, but has been blocked up again. The
chancel has a flat Perpendicular roof, now whitewashed and divided
into squares by intersecting beams of oak. The two windows on

* The original of this brief is at the British Museum.

112 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

the south, as well as the east window, have Perpendicular tracery,
the latter of a very singular but ugly design. There is a modern
vestry on the north side.

Fixed against the wall, at the west end of the nave of the church,
is a remarkable sepulchral monument, which is deserving of detailed
mention. It belongs to the semi-effigial class of memorials, and is
considered such a good specimen of that style that it rarely escapes
mention in any treatise bearing on Christian sepulture. As we
write, six different engravings, of more or less accuracy, of this
memorial lie before us, and there are, we believe, as many more
to be elsewhere found.* This stone was discovered in digging a
grave at the commencement of the last century, and has since been
carefully preserved in the church itself. It belongs to that class,
in which the parts of the figure represented are sunk below the
surface of the stone, and made to appear as if they were disclosed
to the view through apertures, formed for that purpose by the
removal of portions of the coffin lid. Through a quatrefoil open-
ing at the upper end of the stone, appears the head and shoulders
of a female sculptured in bas-relief. At the bottom of the slab is
a narrow oblong opening, through which are seen the feet and
lower part of the drapery. On the sinister side of the quartrefoil
is a cross floree, marking the commencement of the inscription.
The inscription is in large Lombardic characters, and is written in
three lines lengthways on the flat part of the stone. It is quite
perfect, and reads as follows : — Hie jacet Matilda le Cans, orate pro
anima ef pat' nost' Above the stone is a small slab, of the date
of 26th October, 1801, which says, that it perpetuates the memory
of Matilda Le Caus, one of the family of Sir Thomas Le Caus,
who, it appears, by ancient records, was son of Ralph de
Brampton, lord of the manor of Caushall, in this township, about
the year 1216, in whose family it remained for more than 200
years. Thomas, the son of Ralph de Bramptou, took the surname
of de Caus, or Cauz, about the year 1216. This family were lords
of the manor of Caus, or Caushall, hi the township of Brampton,
until the extinction of the male line in 1460. The monument may,
of course, be to the memory of a Matilda le Caus, the wife or
relative of some proprietor of this manor, and unknown to history ;
but we see no good reason to doubt the suggestion of Lysons that
it commemorates a person of no less consequence than Matilda,

* Cutt's Incised Slabs, Boutell's Christian Monuments, and the local works of
Lysous, Glover, Ford, and Bateman.

BRAMPTON. 113

the heiress of the barony of Cauz, who died in the year 1224. We
are inclined, too, to dispute the assertion that the head-dress of this
figure is of too late a period to be attributed to the commence-
ment of the reign of Henry III. ; but, if this was the case, it need
create no difficulty, for the monument might not have been erected
to her till several years after her decease. It seems clear, too,
that the family of Caus, of Brampton, did descend in the female
line from the baronial family of Caus in Nottinghamshire, and what
is more likely than that they should have commemorated the high
rank of their founder by a monument, which in those days must
have been regarded as an unusual and costly display of art. The
immediate connection, also, of this lady with Derbyshire, in her
lifetime, is proved by an entry in the Forest Book, of Matilda de
Caus owing a fine, in the fourth year of Henry III., for seisin of
the customary of the forests of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire,
which belonged to her by right of inheritance. We omitted to
mention that the figure holds between the hands a human heart.
The arms of Caus were, per chevron, or and gu., three human
hearts, counterchanged ; but there is no necessity to connect the
holding of a heart with the family arms, as this disposition of the
hands is frequently shown in monumental effigies of this period.
Semi-effigial monuments, especially of this description, are but
rarely met with, and are found for the most part in the Midland
Counties. In the floor of Kedleston Church are the heads of a
knight and lady within quatrefoil openings ; and during some
recent alterations we had the pleasure of discovering the upper
portion of a somewhat similar slab, with a man's head, in the
church of North Winfield. Another memorial of this description,
and of almost identical design with that at Brampton, was found
during the repairs of Hartington Church in 1857. *

At the west end of the north aisle is an alabaster slab, one
margin of which has been cut away, and another portion partly
covered by the seats. It has a marginal inscription in black letter,
of which only the commencement can now be deciphered, " Hie
jacet Thomas Ball . . . " It appears to be a memorial of the
fifteenth century, but it has been subsequently utilised, for it now
bears in the centre of the stone these two modem inscriptions : —
" Anna uxor Roberti Owtrem sepulta rait undecimo die Jimii, Anno
1705." " Here also lieth the body of Samuel Owtrem, of Cutthorp.

* A sketch of the Hartington memorial appeared in the Eeliquart/, October, I860,
p. 128.

114 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

He died 22nd June, 1763, aged 90 years." Bassano, visiting the
church about 1710, mentions this monument as "ye effigies of a
man with a chalice on his right side and a book opened on his
left," and though the inscription was not then perfect, there was
more of it remaining — " Hie jacet Thomas Ball, Capellan', qui obiit
ix die mensis Octobris . . . ;'

Various other alabaster slabs, more or less defaced, are described
by Bassauo, all of which have now totally disappeared. One, bear-
ing the portraiture of a man and woman, had an inscription, of
which only "Hie jacet Philippus" remained ; another showed the
lower portion of a central figure and three children, with the words,
" Qui quidem Philippus obiit 28 die mensis," and the following
quartered coat : —

" 1st and 4th, arg., on a chevron 3 caterfoyles, sa.
2nd and 3rd, a cross iugrailed, between 11 cups silver." (?)*

On a third slab he describes the effigies of a man and woman
and their six children, "upon it, very dimly inscribed, is ' Eobtus

Br . . hohne et Alicia uxor ejus iii die feb. An. D°.

MDXXV.' "

Bassano further noted, in the east window of the north aisle, the
following firms : — " Az., a bend between 6 escallops, or, impaled
with arg., a frett, sa. In another part of the window — arg., a
chevron between 3 escallops, gu. A third pane contained — arg.,
upon a bend, az., 5 bezants charged with as many crosses potent,
sa."

The first of these coats, if properly blazoned, is Frecheville im-
paling Vemon, but, though we know that Frecheville held lands at
Brampton in the reign of Henry VIII., there is no account of an
alliance between these families. It seems, therefore, probable that
Bassano read the arms rightly, but made an error about the tinc-
tures ; for Foljambe and Frecheville bore the same arms, only in
different colours. If this is the case, the impaled coat signified the
marriage between Henry Foljambe and Benedicta, the daughter of
Sir William Vernon, of Nether Haddon, which took place in the
reign of Henry VI. There are numerous deeds extant relating to
property at Bramptou held by the Foljambes.f

The second coat is that of Breton, of Walton ; and the third is
one which we have not yet identified.

* This coat belongs to Eyre, but we are unable to identify the second and third
quarterings, which appear to be incorrectly stated. The Eyres were possessed of a
small property at Brampton in the fifteenth century.

t Collectanea Topographies et Genealogica, vol. 1, pp. 350, 853, 356, etc.

B HAMPTON. 115

There are some cumbersome arid ungainly monuments of the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, to the memory of the Clarkes
of Somersall, in the north aisle, but they do not conie within the
scope of these notes. Beneath one of them is affixed a small brass
to the memory of the first of the family who settled here. It is
thus inscribed : — " Mors est niihi vita. Hie jacet Nichus Clarke de
Somersall in Brampton. generosus, qui obiit prime die Marcii Anuo
Dni. 1589." The history of the travels of this plate, and a com-
panion, is rather curious. Dr. Pegge, writing about the middle of
the last century, describes this brass as being then at Somersall
Hall, Brampton, the scat of the Clarkes. He also notes another
plate at the same place, which was inscribed as follows: — "Hie
jacet Olivorus Shawe, quondam Vicarius hujus eccl' qui obiit xxiii.
die Septembris Ao. Dni. MCCCCCXLIII. Cujus ale' ppicietur De."
Dr. Pegge adds that in all reason both of these belong to Brampton
church.* After the death of the fourth Earl Scarsdale, Sutton Hall
was purchased by Godfrey Clarke in 1740, and became his principal
seat. The brasses appear to have moved with him, for Mr. Keynolds
has the following memorandum, under date 6th June, 1775 — "Being
then at Sutton-in-the-Dale, in order to fetch away some things
which I had bought at the Hall on Friday, the 2nd instant, I
found amongst the rubbish in the library the two brass plates men-
tioned by Dr. Pegge, of which he gives the inscriptions. Both
these I delivered to the late Mr. Clarke's housekeeper, at Suttou
Hall, aforesaid. ''t Elsewhere, Mr. Reynolds, not knowing whence
the plate had come, suggests that Oliver Shawe had been a former
vivar of Sutton. The former of these plates has eventually, as we
: . been restored to its proper position ; but we are afraid
that the brass to the vicar is yet at large. A few years ago, it
turned up at a lawyer's office in Chesterfield, and a suggestion was
made that it should be placed in the parish church of that town
as one of the vicars of , Chesterfield. Fortunately this suggestion
was not adopted ; and it is to be hoped that it may yet be returned
to the church of Brampton.

In the churchyard, near to the priest's door, is a portion of a

sepulchral slab, about three feet by two. It has been effectively

sculptured with foliage, and belongs to the early English period.

specially interesting to note these traces of early sepulture at

Bramptou, for there was much dispute with the mother- church of

* Pegge's Collections, vol. 8, p. •>•>.
7> .1.5, (. 71.

116 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Chesterfield about the burial of their dead. It seems that the
inhabitants of Brampton did not inter round their own chapel till
some time in the thirteenth century. In the reign of Henry III.,
during his war with Simon de Montford in 1264-6, we read of
their repairing portions of the wall of the Chesterfield graveyard,
adjacent to their own part of the burial ground, in which they
would not allow others to be buried. But the monument of Matilda
le Caus seems to point to occasional earlier burial at Brampton, at
all events within the church. There are some curious Latin notes
at the end of the earliest of the Chesterfield registers, copied therein
by the Kev. Matthew Waddington, who was vicar of Chesterfield
from 1616 till 1638, wherein are enumerated certain claims on the
part of that vicarage upon the neighbouring chapelries and hamlets.
These claims seems to have been confirmed by a decree of the Star
Chamber, on the llth November, in the seventh year of Charles I.
The inhabitants of Brampton, with those of the adjacent hamlets
of Wigley, Wadshelf, Loades, and Pocknage, had, after the privilege
of baptizing and burial at Brampton had been granted, to make an
offering of a farthing for each inhabited house on the festivals of
All Saints, Epiphany, and the Assumption, to the vicar of Chester-
field. They were required to supply, in then- turn, the sacramental
bread for the mother-church. But the most singular custom was
that they were bound to take for burial to Chesterfield, every year,
the corpse of the first person who died in any of these hamlets
after New Year's Day ; and the vicar of Chesterfield was to receive
all the fees and mortuary oblations that would have been paid had
the corpse been buried at Brampton. This custom seems to have
continued down to the year 1828, as may be proved from entries in
the Chesterfield registers ; but it was subsequently resisted by the
inhabitants of Brampton, and made the subject of litigation. The
dispute eventually resulted in the retention of the corpse, but in
payment of certain fees to Chesterfield ; and we believe that two
shillings is still paid to the vicar of Chesterfield for the first person
who dies at Brampton after New Year's Day.

Brampton has, however, been long esteemed a separate parish.
It is even said to have been so considered in 1547, when the
Chantry Boll was taken.

Hugh Ingram, who is supposed to have married one of the co-
heiresses of Caus, founded a chantry in this church. It is thus
described in the Chantry Boll : — " The Chauntrye of or Ladye of
Braunton founded by Hughe Ingram, whose inherytaunce is comen

BRAMPTON. 117

to Fras. Erie of Shrewsburye for a priste to say masse in or Ladye
Chappell, liij//., vjs., viij</. Thos. Soinersell* Chauntry Prest. It
hath a rnancyon house prised att \s. viijd. by yere. Stock xlijs. xjcf."

The original deed by which this chantry was endowed is still
preserved at Lincoln. By that deed Hugh Ingram set apart thirty-
five acres of land : " Deo et Capellse apostolorum Petri et Pauli
Brampton." This chantry was well endowed, for, in addition to
the acres bestowed by the first charter, it shortly afterwards had
twenty-nine more acres bestowed upon it by different benefactors,
including eleven acres from Hugh de Linacre. The founder also
made a free gift of fifteen acres to William, Dean of Lincoln, by
way, we suppose, of purchasing consent for the foundation of the
chantry. This William was William de Lexinton, who was Dean
about the year 1260 ; and the chantry was probably founded in
the year 1264.

The Deans of Lincoln appear to have looked very closely after
their Derbyshire emoluments. In the reign of Henry III., and
again in 1324, the Dean of Lincoln is actually described as being
Parson of Brampton. t

The following are the legends on the four bells in the tower : —

1. " Jesus be our sped."

2. " Jesu nomen in — ."

3. " God save this church."

4. " Jesus be our sped."J

Over the gable at the east end of the nave is the bell-cot for
the sanctus bell. We were told that a former incumbent removed
this bell to the adjacent parsonage.

In the churchyard, Bassano mentions " a handsome cross of two
greeves (steps), and upon ye middle stone is a large sundial."

When the Parliamentary Survey of Livings was taken, in 1650,
the Commissioners reported of Brampton, that it is "a parochial
chapelry in parish of Chesterfield. In vicarial tythes 20s. It is
thought fitt to be made a parish church. Sir E. Leech is the
impropriator, and bound to find a minister at Brampton. Mr. H.

* The Somersalls, of Somersall, were an old Derbyshire family. Godfrey Somer-
Ball was Governor of Peak Castle in the reign of Edward VI.

f From manuscripts of Mr. Godfrey Foljambe, of Wigley, quoted by Dr. Pegge.

J There is an incompleteness in the inscription on the second bell, for which we
cannot account, nor are we able to say anything as to the bell-founder's marks, for on
both the occasions when we visited Brampton Church the key of the belfry was kept
at such a distance from the village as to be unavailable. For the inscriptions, as they
are given in the text, we are indebted to a friend.

118 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Hybbert is incumbent, an able, honest preacher. There is augmen-
tacou of £4:0 per annum granted to Brampton."

A hasty burial took place in this church, under the high altar,
of which there is now no memorial. According to an old meino-
randum book of one Arthur Mower, of Barlow, " Mr. Godfrey
Foljambe, of Moorhall, departed from out of this world on Monday
at morn, about 1st cock-crowing, 15 November; and was buried at
Brampton, in the chancel under the high altar, where it stood the
same day towards night, for it could not be kept. Anno Dom. 1591."*

*Add. MSS. 6G71,f. 341.

rimingfon.
JQpfofioIb.

TQormant-on.
Malfon.

|T the time of the Domesday Survey Newbold formed part
of the demesne of the Crown. It was a manor of con-
siderable extent, and comprised within its limits six
hamlets — Wbittington, Brimington, Tapton, Boythorpe, Eckington,
and Chesterfield. The ancient chapel at Newbold may probably
have been, at one time in its history, strange as it may now seem,
the mother church of Chesterfield. Though no mention is made of
a church at Chesterfield in the Domesday Book, one must have been
erected there almost immediately on the conclusion of that survey,
for William Eufus, who died in the year 1100, gave the church of
Chesterfield, together with its chapels, to the Dean and Chapter of
Lincoln. This gift was probably made, as was often the case, at
the time of the church's erection. The Eev. George Hall, in com-
piling his History of Chesterfield, published in 1823, made the
singular mistake of asserting that " in Domesday Book it is said
Matthew Hathersage gave six acres of land in Newbold-field to the
church at Chesterfield, on the day of dedication, in the year 1233."
As the Domesday Survey had been completed about a century and
a half before that date, the strange blunder is at once detected,
and would have been hardly worth notice, had not Glover, in his
History of Derbyshire, published ten years later, slavishly copied it.
A strange bungle has arisen over the question of the original date
of the dedication of Chesterfield church, for Dr. Pegge, one of the
most careful of antiquaries, led -us astray by stating in his History
of Beauchief Alley, on the authority of the Chartulary at Lincoln,
that it was dedicated in the year 1234. But when Ford's local
history was published in 1839, a copy of the original receipt con-
cerning these six acres of land was published in a note, and runs
as follows : —

" I, Hugh of Walton, have received from William de Thomaco,

122 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Dean of Lincoln, six acres of arable land in the field of Newbold,
those (acres) namely which Matthew de Hathersage gave to the
church of Chesterfield on the day of dedication, the same church
to be had and held. Witness. Hugo de Linacre, &c., &c. Dated
at Chesterfield, on Wednesday the day after the Assumption of the
Blessed Virgin Mary, in the year of our Lord, 1284." It is
curious that this receipt should have misled Dr. Pegge and also
the compiler of Ford's history. All that it means is, that Sir
Matthew Hathersage made a gift to the church of Chesterfield on
the anniversary of its dedication, which was an usual date upon
which special bequests were made. The original dedication day
must have been at least as early as the times of William Eufus.
Then again, as if to further complicate the puzzle, the church,
until within the last few months, bore the date 1037 inscribed upon
a stone over the entrance of the south transept porch. Several
theories have been started to account for the obvious incorrectness
of this date as applicable to any portion of the present structure,
the one most generally accepted being that it was copied from the
older transept, pulled down to make room for the present one.
But there is no reason to believe that a church existed here at all
in the year 1037, and, if it did, the architects of those days were
the last persons in the world to think of blazoning the date of
their achievement on the outside of the structure. Ford, sug-
gesting that the curved part of the figure 2 was mistaken for an 0,
and the downstroke of the 4 for a 7 when the copy was made,
attempts to make the date tally with the 1234 of the Lincoln
Chartulary. But then, as we have already stated, the Lincoln
Chartulary never did assert that the church was dedicated in the
year 1234. The most probable solution of the difficulty is to be
found in the suggestion that has occurred to us, that the 0 was
originally a 6, and that the upper part of the stroke perished from
exposure to the weather, or was smoothed off by some wicked wag.
This date, 1G37, would about correspond with the probable date of
the erection of the porch leading into the south transept, which
has just been removed. This porch had a quaint entrance, with
an ogee- shaped but very flat archway, but was otherwise clearly
referable to the seventeenth century. Making inquiries as to the
whereabouts of this inscribed stone, we found that it was cracked
in two when being taken down, and that it was subsequently
removed to the builder's yard at Staveley. Probably before these
lines are in print it will have been finally broken up, or otherwise

CHESTERFIELD. 123

utilised, and will no longer vex the souls of local archaeologists.
The stone had, however, been in dire disgrace for some time pre-
vious to its removal, for we learnt that its figures had been all
roughly chiselled off, and only the trace of them left behind.

Another point of dispute in connection with this church is the
style of its dedication. By some accounts it is said to be dedicated
to All Saints, but by others to St. Mary. "We are not aware,
however, of any good grounds for attributing it to the latter dedica-
tion. On the contrary, Bacon's Liber Reyis, the accepted authority
on disputed dedications, Lewis's Topographical Dictionary, and the
most trustworthy of the Gazetteers and local histories, unite in
ascribing it to All Saints. The church itself also bears witness to
(ho truth of this statement, for a brass in the south transept, of
the date of 1500, to which reference will be subsequently made,
mentions " the parish of All Saints, in Chesterfield." Moreover, at
the foundation of both the Guilds, and in other documents of the
fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries, it is spoken of as
dedicated to All Saints, whereas we have not met with a single
pro-reformation statement of its dedication to St. Mary.*

Of the church that existed here in the days when the Norman
style of architecture prevailed, no trace now remains, either in tho
building itself or in the monumental remains, unless we except an
incised slab, described and pictured by Ford, that may have been
of that period, but which seems to have disappeared during the
alterations in 18-42 — 3. The church, as it at present stands, is of
a cruciform shape, and consists of nave, side aisles, north and
south transepts, and chancel with aisles and chapels on each side.
From the four arches at the intersection of the cross rises a well-
proportioned square tower, surmounted by a plain parapet and four
octagonal pinnacles, from amid which springs that architectural
singularity, the twisted spire of lead-covered timber. The propor-
tions of this large church are justly balanced, and would have, if
it was not for the spire, a most symmetrical and harmonious effect.
The height of the spire, exclusive of the weather-cock, is 230 feet.
The total length of the church is 170 feet 11 inches, and the
breadth across the transept, 109 feet 6 inches.

The oldest portion of the present building is to be found in the
transepts. A new doorway has just been built to the south tran-

* There are copies of four charters, each of which specifies the church of All Saints
'thoW.il:. ' 1. M>S. lii'f.T, \'}>. '.;'7-711. The dates of these charters

i from 31 Bdw. III., tu 32 Heu. VIII.

124 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

sept, from which the porch has been removed as already described,
and the details of the new doorway precisely follow the character-
istics of its decayed predecessor. The old doorway, as is shown by
the stones placed inside the transept, and by the bases not yet
removed from the churchyard, was a fair example of early English
work, the jambs being cut into shafts bordered by the character-
istic tooth or four-leaved flower ornament. Inside the transept,
too, there is a remnant of this period in the half-pillar against the
south wall, from the capital of which springs one of the arches
that separate the south transept from the south chapel. Round
this half-pillar, or pilaster, cluster eight small shafts, that have
two projecting bauds between the capital and base. The arch that
springs from it is of later work, consonant with the main portion
of the building. The north transept also bears traces of early
English work. The two archways which separate the north chapel
from this transept are both supported on the outer walls by
pilasters consisting of a single disengaged shaft of early English
work, divided in the centre by a single band. The capitals of
these shafts are carved into well-defined foliage. There are several
corbel heads or brackets projecting from both the west and east
walls of the north transept, which point to the existence of a roof
of very different pitch and construction to the present one. Those
on the east wall appear to belong to this period. These traces,
then, of early English work in the two transepts, are sufficient to
tell us that a large cruciform church was erected here in the thir-
teenth century, probably about 1250, in the place of the Norman
church of "William Eufus that previously existed. The remains,
too, are sufficient to enable us to say that this church of the thir-
teenth century was not carried out on an entirely uniform plan,
and was probably not completed at one time. It seems as though
the north transept was of earlier construction than the one on the
south. Nor must we here omit to mention the corbel-table that
supports the exterior cornice of the wall on the south side of the
Foljambe chapel. The heads and other mouldings that form this
corbel-table are clearly attributable to the early English period,
and form an additional proof of the great size of the church in the
thirteenth century.

By far the most considerable portion of the present fabric must,
however, have been erected in the succeeding century, when the
Decorated style was in vogue. The nave, side aisles, south porch,
parts of the transepts, and the fine central tower, all formed part

CHESTERFIELD. 1 25

of one grand uniform design ; but this design was not carried out
at the east end of the church, owing, we suppose, to that portion
being in good repair from recent restorations. We have already
seen how parts of early English work were left in the transepts,
let us now see what further alterations were made previous to the
reconstruction of the main body of the building. The Decorated
period of English architecture prevailed chiefly throughout the
fourteenth century, in the reigns of Edward II. and Edward III.,
though some of the earliest specimens were erected in 1290. There
was considerable change throughout the continuance of this style,
and the parts of Chesterfield Church that belong to this period
differ in design, and were built on three if not four separate occa-
sions. The earliest of these may, we think, be found in the south
or Calton chapel, and in the central pillar that supports the two
arches which divide the chapel from the transept. This pillar
would probably be erected at the time when the early English
work began to give way, or when this chapel, as it now stands,
was erected. The pillar differs decidedly from ah1 the others in the
church, and is grooved into alternate rounded and filleted mould-
ings. The chapel is a lofty apse-shaped building, and is lighted by
three tall windows of two lights each, the upper portions being
filled with Decorated tracery of a regular design. The two south
windows, also, of the adjacent Foljambe chapel, of three lights
each, are of a Decorated pattern at one time in frequent use, and
though the east window of this chapel is now of Perpendicular
design, the former higher span of the window arch, when it was
of the same design as the south windows, can be plainly seen from
the exterior. Then again, the central pillar of the north transept,
supporting the two arches that divide the transept from the north
chapel, is of this period. It is of octagonal shape, and has a
unique-looking capital, which is sculptured into a double row of
foliage with a human head on the east side, and another defaced
on the west. This transept and chapel were much knocked about
and barbarously "restored" in the last century, but, over a
modernised round-headed north doorway into the chapel, is a fine
window of four principal lights with elegant Flamboyant tracery.
This window represents the Decorated style when in its prime, and
though of no large dimensions, is in our opinion the gem of the
church in point of design. The large east window of the chancel
is now fiDed with Decorated tracery, but this dates back no further
than 1842 — 3, when it superseded one of Perpendicular construction ;

126 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

and during the present year a fine window of the same style has
been put in the south of the south transept, succeeding to one
which was of Perpendicular date. On each side of the chancel are,
two archways that divide it from the Foljambe chapel on the
south, and the corresponding one on the north. These arches, sup-
ported by central octagonal columns with plainly moulded .capitals,
are of the Decorated period, and tolerably early in that style.
Now all these details of Decorated work that we have been enume-
rating, are doubtless of earlier date than the general design of that
period when the body and tower of the church were constructed.
They were probably built at different times by different benefactors
"to the church, and if we were asked to assign approximate dates to
the various portions, we should place the transept pillars about the
year 1300 ; the chancel archways and perhaps the Foljambe and
south chapel about 1 320 ; and the Flamboyant north window
about 1350.

The whole of the nave, north and south aisles, south porch, tower
(and probably spire), together with a portion of the south transept,
form part of one design, of the reign of Edward III., and cer-
tainly not earlier than 1350. In fact this rebuilding was carried
out throughout the whole structure, except in those eastern parts
where the fabric was sound, having only been erected a few years
previously. The nave is separated from the side aisles by six
arches on each side, supported by five pillars. These piers are
formed of four clustered pillars, and have plain capitals of three
courses of rounded mouldings. The west arches are supported by
half pillars or responds of the same description,, and those at the
east end rest on handsome corbels. There are five side windows
to each of the aisles, of three principal lights, all of the same
device, and another window like them, but of larger dimensions,
in the west wall of the south transept. From the exterior we
notice that these windows are divided by buttresses of two courses,
surmounted by pinnacles, which correspond in position to the piers
of the arches in the interior. These windows are set deeply in
the walls, and the jambs are carved into delicate and well pre-
served mouldings. The simple hood-mould that runs round the
windows is continued horizontally along the walls until it joins the
buttresses, a feature unusual in Decorated work. The tracery in
the upper part of the windows is somewhat stiff, and indicates an
approach to the more definite times of the Perpendicular era. The
details of the jarnbs of the two west windows of the aisles exactly

CHESTERFIELD. 127

correspond with the others, but the tracery shows that they have
been restored during the Perpendicular period. The tracery of the
large west window is of a more flowing description, but it is a
modern insertion. In the Eev. Alfred Suckling's Church Notes is a
beautifully finished pen-and-ink sketch of Chesterfield Church from
the north-west, which shows this window filled with debased Per-
pendicular tracery, having two lines of transoms. * The west bay
of each of these aisles is occupied by doorways of similar pattern.
The third doorway into the nave below the large west window,
which has recently been rather clumsily restored, is also of the
same design. These doorways are good specimens of the late
Decorated work. The jambs are cut into three filleted shafts,
divided by filleted mouldings. The fillets are continued up the
capitals of the shaft, and by intersecting the horizontal mouldings
present a curious cross-like effect. The doorway on the south side
is covered by a handsome porch, the entrance into which is sur-
mounted by a richly-ornamented, canopied niche, and the gable
bears a stone cross. In the north-east corner of this porch is a
low ogee-arched doorway, which opens on a stairway leading to the
roof of the porch, and also to the leads of the side aisle. This
stairway is contained in a projecting turret, surmounted by a
pyramidal pinnacle. Returning to the interior of the church, we
note the four very effective arches of ample height and span,
and the massive piers upon which the weighty fabric of tower
and spire are erected. The coup d' ceil is, of course, marred
by the side and west galleries of the nave, though it is only
fair to state that they are perhaps as little ungainly as it is pos-
sible for galleries to be ; and we cannot help also remarking,
though it may be hypercritical, that the effect of the design as a
whole would have been improved if the openings from the side
aisles into the transepts, on each side of the piers of the tower,
had taken the form of pointed archways instead of half-arches,
which only give the appearance of being buttresses.

The tower, springing from the intersection of the nave, chancel,
and transepts, is supported at the angles by shallow buttresses of
three courses. The lower part of the tower, below the bell-chamber
windows, is divided into two stages by horizontal lines of receding
moulding. Between these two lines are the small single-light win-
dows, two on each side, that give light to the belfry proper or
bell-ringing chamber. Above these are the fine double windows of

» Add. MSS. 18,478.

128 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

the tower, of good proportion, and of a tracery usual to towers of
this date. Ahove these again are the parapet and pinnacles. The
parapet is unpierced and not divided into battlements, hut it is
adorned with a chaste hand of running moulding, very similar to
that in a like position on the tower of the parish church of Crich.
And now we have reached that singular eccentricity — the spire,
which must not be passed over in a hasty manner. Of its date
we cannot speak with absolute certainty, but it may, in the first
place, be remarked, that from the construction of the tower it is
indubitable that it was intended to carry a spire, and secondly
that there are no apparent traces of the existence of a previous
spire in the present situation. Spires formed of timber and
covered with shingles or lead are not very uncommon, especially
in the south-eastern counties. They are, as a rule, devoid of all
ornament or work by which they can be appropriated to any par-
ticular style of architecture, and are more usually found upon
towers of the Perpendicular period than upon those of earlier date.
But still they are not unknown, in other instances besides Ches-
terfield, upon towers of the Decorated style, and in more than one
such instance they have been attributed by competent authorities
to that period. There seems, then, no good reason for doubting
that this spire was erected at or about the time when the tower
and principal portions of the church were built, an hypothesis
which places its date between the years 1350 — 70. The spire is of
an octagonal shape, and is built of timber and covered with lead.
The lead is applied in diagonally-placed parallelograms, and is so
arranged as to divide each of the eight sides into two distinct and
chanelled planes, giving the spire, irrespective of its crookedness, a
most unique appearance. Theories innumerable, and conjectures
without end have been offered on all sides as to the crookedness
of this spire, and, perhaps, the strangest of all is the one that
consists in denying that it possesses any real crookedness, and that
the appearance of it arises from an optical delusion brought about
by the strange way in which the lead is disposed ! It is really
wonderful to think how anyone blessed with ordinary eyesight, to
say nothing of a spirit of investigation, could have arrived at such
a conclusion, and, though the opinion has been backed by men of
great authority in all matters pertaining to ecclesiastical architec-
ture, they have probably only derived their views second hand from
some ardent inhabitant of Chesterfield, who refused to see the
enormity, on the principle that actuates a mother in denying the

CHESTERFIELD. 129

squint of her offspring, though it is patent to all the world ! But,
whatever was the basis of their opinion, there it stands in Kick-
man's Gothic Architecture, — " the apparent leaning of the spire arises
partly from the curious spiral mode of putting on the lead, and
partly from a real inclination of the general lines of the wood-
work of the spire ;" and Parker, in his Glossary of Architecture,
says — " the lead is so disposed as to give the appearance of the
spire being twisted." Glover also, in his history of the county,
adopts this view, speaking of " the leaning appearance" and he has
been followed by the compilers of several gazetteers and directories.
If anyone still holds to this notion of an optical delusion, which
might be held by looking at it from only one direction, let him
walk round the church and view the spire on aU sides ; if he
is still in doubt, let him ascend the tower and walk round the
parapet, keeping his eyes above him ; and should he, perchance,
remain yet micon verted — an apparent impossibility — let him climb
the ladders in the interior of the spire that lead to the " crow
hole " a few feet from the top, and put his head out of the door-
way on the south side, that he will there find, and, if he descends
with the impression still on him that the leaning or crookedness
is only apparent, he will be the most astounding sceptic that the
world has ever seen. We are not in a position, from any observa-
tions of our own, to say more, than that we are assured of the
crookedness, and of a considerable inclination to the south-west ;
in fact we would defy anyone to have any doubt upon either of
these points, irrespective of external appearances, if he would
simply content himself with a visit to the interior of the spire,
and a careful examination of the interlacing of the different
timbers. There seems no reason to doubt the accuracy of the
measurements quoted by the Rev. G. Hall. He tells us that
in January, 1818, the ball on which the weathercock is fixed
was found to lean towards the south six feet from the perpen-
dicular of its base,, and four feet four inches out of its perpendi-
cular towards the west ; therefore, its greatest deviation from the
perpendicular of its base is nearly midway between these two
points, or nearly at south-west. Amongst the different theories
adopted, by those who believe in the reality of the twist and
inclination, to account for its shape, may be mentioned the follow-
ing:— (1) intentional eccentricity of construction, (2) struck by
lightning, (3) heavy pressure of lead, (4) warping by the action
of the sun. The first of these theories is hardly worth a word of

130 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

argument, for though there are those who contend with a good show
of reason that the leaning tower of Pisa and other peculiarities of
architecture in that famous city were purposely so erected,* there is
something so monstrous, not to say uncanny, ahout the shape of
the Chesterfield spire, that it is impossible to conceive any one
in their senses sitting down to plan such a device, and almost
equally impossible would it have been to have carried out such
a device, even if it had in the first instance been planned.
Ehodes truly remarks of this supposition, " No man who ever
lived would voluntarily erect an object of deformity, a thing that
in its form and outline was offensive to the eye, and in opposi-
tion to every principle of taste. "t Nor is the second conjecture,
though more probable, much more tenable ; for surely if a timber
spire had been struck with lightning, some visible traces of the
action of the electric fluid would have been left in the scorching,
or, at all events, discolouring of the beams ? And if the spire
had ever received a sudden shock of such violence as to cause so
marvellous a displacement of its timbers, it is difficult to believe
that it could have remained for centuries in its present condition.
In our opinion the true solution is to be found in a combination
of the third and fourth theories. It seems probable that the
various beams, of which the framework of the spire is composed,
were put up in an insufficiently seasoned condition, and insecurely
rivetted together without due allowance being made for the great
weight of the requisite mass of lead. The clinging pressure of
the lead might thus cause a certain irregular subsidence in the
timbers, and this would be greatly assisted by the powerful warp-
ing action of the sun beating through the lead on to the green
parts of the woodwork. That the real explanation is to be found
in a combination of these two causes seems the more probable, as
a close examination of the beams proves two faults — firstly, that
many of them (especially the smaller ones) are unmistakably
warped ; and secondly, that the joints have gaped and given way
in places where there is no appearance of this having been caused
by warping or contraction. That the action of the sun has been
one of the most powerful agencies at work, is further shown from
the fact that the timbers are the most displaced and twisted from,
their original position on the south side — the side most exposed

* See an admirable explanatory article on the intentional irregularities of various
buildings at Pisa, by W. H. Goodyear, in Scribner's Monthly, August, 1874.

t Khodes' Peak Scenery, part iv., p. 36.

CHESTERFIELD. 131

to the influence of its rays. There is no necessity to imagine
that this subsidence and distortion took place suddenly, still less,
as some have supposed, that it only came about of late years ;
the most reasonable supposition is that it assumed very nearly, if
not precisely, its present singularity within two or three years of
its erection, but that the displacement went on gradually during
that period.

In the year 1817, it was generally supposed that there was con-
siderable danger of the spire falling, and various reports were
published, all of an alarming nature, by different surveyors. Messrs.
Hodkin and Toinlinson, of Chesterfield, reported that they examined
the steeple on the 26th of November, 1817, and were of opinion
that "if it be suffered to remain unsupported a few years, it will
certainly become in a dangerous state, and it is very probable that
it will fail at or about the middle of the steeple, and fall towards
the south or south-west." Mr. W. Wilkinson, of Mansfield, in the
following month reported it to be in a dangerous condition, and
advised that the most effectual, safe, and economical course would
be to take it down and erect one of stone. In the same month
the steeple was also inspected by Mr. E. W. Drury, of Sheffield,
and he also recommended that it should be immediately taken
down, maintaining that it was eminently unsafe and dangerous, and
•' that it would be impossible to repair it, even at any expense, so
as to ensure it standing many years." These reports were of so
serious a nature that a vestry meeting was called in January, 1818,
for the purpose of considering the demolition of the spire, but this
proposition was energetically opposed by some of the inhabitants,
and it was decided to take a further opinion. Mr. James Ward, of
Sheffield, was accordingly called in, and on the 24th of January,
reported that, with slight repairs, it might stand almost indefinitely
— " the foundation or basis of the carpenters' work was firm and
good, which rendered it morally (sic) impossible that it should ever
fall, until the base itself gave way." This report being confirmed
by three practical carpenters, was ultimately adopted, and the steeple
Buffered to remain. Mr. Ward has, so far, turned out to be a
true prophet, though with another portion of his report, in which
he speaks of being " convinced that the steeple had never given way
in the least since the day it was first erected, or it would have
fallen down instantaneously," we totally disagree. Ours is only an
unprofessional opinion, but there certainly seems to us no reason
why the spire should not stand for as many more centuries as it

132 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

1ms at present existed, provided that the requisite repairs, both in
lead and timber, are properly carried out as occasion requires. The
covering of lead has been from time to time repaired and renewed,
and there may very likely be none of the original coat now left.
Of late years the plumbers have left their names to posterity in the
material of their work. The earliest instance of this, that we noted,
occurs at the base of the spire, where may be read " J. Harvey,
T. Sales, C. W. (churchwardens), 1771. J. Shepley, plumber."

And if opinions have varied to so remarkable an extent as to the
cause of the shape of the spire, there has been at least an equal
diversity of opinion as to its comeliness and desirability. There
are some people who, persistently holding to the theory of its in-
tentional construction in the present form, are lost in admiration
at the cunning of the artificers, till they believe it to be an actual
ornament and in itself beautiful. There are others who see in it
nothing but a hideous deformity, and desire its speedy demolition.
But there is a third class, and surely to this belong, if not the
majority of Derbyshire men, at all events the majority of the
residents in the hundred of Scarsdale, who perceive in it a most
singular and unique curiosity, who reverence it for the many cen-
turies that it has withstood the blast, who have grown fond of it
from its quaintness and originality, and who would not on any
account have it displaced, even to make room for the most elegant
and appropriate structure of stone that a Street or a Gilbert Scott
could devise. It is, however, but fair to state that it is seldom if
ever admired by the stranger or the casual observer, and it requires
a somewhat intimate acquaintanceship, before any love for its eccen-
tricities is developed. Many an unkind speech and rude jest has
been passed upon its deformities, but they only serve to endear it
the more to the bulk of the intelligent inhabitants of the district.
Perhaps the most brusque description of it that we have seen in

print, was penned, just one hundred years ago, by T Q ,

who made a tour of the Midland Counties in 1772, and published
his impressions of Chesterfield in the Gentleman's Magazine during
the year 1774. He says, " Chesterfield is a large town with
nothing worthy of notice but the church, and this only for its
ugliness ; it is old, and built of bad stone, but rendered most
disgusting by its wooden spire (covered with lead) being so much
warped that I discerned its crookedness at three miles distance.

I am surprised any authors can affirm this appearance

of crookedness to be only a deceptio visus ; its reality is so obvious."

CHESTERFIELD. 1 3 tf

It lias been praised, too, in prose, and praised in poetry, though
poets have found it a difficult subject upon which to invoke the
muse. A local poet from Brimington recently rhymed the praises
"of the church with the old crooked spire,"* and in a far more
ambitious effort, published in 1822, we read : —

" Its ponderous steeple, pillared in the sky,

Rises with twist in pyramidal form,
And threatens danger to the timid eye

That climbs in wonder. When the rolling storm
Scowls dark aiid dreadful o'er its apex high,

And spends its fury in the torrents borne
Down the dark welkin, then she sees it lower,

And stands unshaken by the tempest's power. "f

It is but due to the poet to say that this verse describing the
spire is, as is perhaps appropriate, by far the most wooden of his
many stanzas. But even poetry has not always been kind to the
steeple, and Ford quotes some lines, from the pen of Mr. John
Munnings, which are anything but complimentary : —

" Whichever way you turn your eye,
It always seem to be awry;
Pray, can you tell the reason why ? —
The only reason known of weight
Is that the thing was never straight:
Nor know the people where to go
To find the man to make it so ;
Since none can furnish such a plan,
Except a perfect upright man; —
So that the spire, 'tis very plain,
For ages crooked must remain ;
And while it stands, must ever be
An emblem of deformity."

Our gossip about the spire has extended to a greater length than
we intended, but our excuse must be that it is, whether admired
or not, one of the most singular curiosities of church architecture,
not only in Derbyshire, but in the United Kingdom ; and though
we have concluded with Mr. Muimmgs' satirical lines, we are far
from sharing his opinions. J

After the re-construction of the main portion of the church in
the fourteenth century, it would appear that about another century
elapsed before any further alterations were made. Though the
high pitched roofs of the Decorated period frequently included the

* Derbyshire Times, February 24th, 1866.

\Chesterfield Church; a Poem, by Samuel Bromley. This is a pamphlet of
twenty-five pages.

I The spire, from its exposed situation, has on several occasions suffered from
storms. One of the most serious of these storms occurred on 3rd October, 1701,
when the weather-cock was blown off and considerable damage done to the upper
part of the spire. This was the time when the wind blew so strongly at London
Bridge that the tide was forced back till people were able to cross on foot. MS. of
Mr. H. Lowe, of \Vhittington, quoted by Dr. Pegge.

134 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHKS.

body and aisles in a single span, we can decide, from the traces
of the pitch of the old roof on the walls of the tower, that this
was not the case at Chesterfield. Probably, therefore, the original
design included clerestory windows above the side aisles-, but of
much smaller dimensions than the present ones. These windows,
six on each side, show by their tracery that they are attributable
to the Perpendicular period, and are about one hundred years
later than the body of the church. It may very likely have hap-
pened that about the year 1480 it became necessary to repair the
decaying timbers of the roof ; for over and over again it has been
found, from a close inspection of the timbers of old church roofs,
that they have been made to do duty repeatedly in successive
roofs of different constructions. The architect, then, of the four-
teenth century, may have very likely used the beams that had
formerly constructed the early English roof; and hence the ne-
cessity, a hundred years later, for its re-construction. The architect
of the fifteenth century would naturally make use of the style
then in vogue, which possessed also the additional attraction of
giving more light and more scope for the display of coloured glass.
At the same time the tracery of the two west windows of the
aisles, and of the large west window of the nave, would be altered.
Then, too, some repairs wei'e done to the north transept, though
of what extent it is difficult to decide, owing to its transformation
in 1769; but there is a window in the west wall, adjoining the
nave, of the same construction as the clerestory windows of the
main building.

The chancel and its side chapsls seem to have next required
renovation ; and we accordingly find that the east windows of the
chancel, of the Foljambe chapel, and of the corresponding chapel
on the north side were filled with Perpendicular tracery, in which
the transom, or horizontal mullion, makes itself very conspicuous,
and points to about the year 1500. The east window of the
chancel was taken out at the alterations in 1848, and another
large Perpendicular window has recently disappeared from the
south end of the south transept, then- places being in each instance
supplied with tracery after the Decorated style. There is also a
three-light square-headed Perpendicular window over the doorway
leading into the modern lean-to vestry on the north side ; and
another similar one, but now blocked up, facing the east, which
formerly lighted the small chapel opening out of the north transept.
These may be of still later date, as well as the three large square-
clerestory windows in the west wall of the south transept.

CHESTERFIELD. 185

The following alterations made in the church during the last
century are for the most part noted in the parish registers. In
1718 the chancel was enlarged and newly seated. In 1738 a
gallery was erected on the north side to correspond with a much
older one in the south. In 1769 the north transept was rebuilt,
after the present hideous fashion, at an expense of .£372 6s. 7d.
In 1774 the west part of the roof of the church was taken down,
newly timbered, and fresh leaded. In 1790 the body of the church
and chancel were whitewashed, the pillars in the body of the
church painted "for the first time," by assessment, and the cross
aisle and chancel painted " for the first time," by subscription of
the inhabitants of the town. A thorough renovation of the inte-
rior took place in 1842-3, involving the removal of the cumbrous
old galleries and pews, and the substitution of an oak roof em-
blazoned with heraldry for the flat plaster ceiling. A good idea of
the interior of the church previous to this restoration may be
gained from the plate in Ford's History of Chesterfield. It will
there be noted that the nave was lighted by two handsome brass
chandeliers of ri'iKiisfnin-e design, which were the gift of Mr. Godfrey
Heathcote in 1760. These now hang from the roofs of the Foljambe
chapel, and the corresponding chapel or aisle on the north side of
the chancel. A small endowment was left by the donor for keeping
these chandeliers in order, and they are supplied with candles, and
illuminated once a year, viz., at the evening service on Christmas
Day. During the repairs several interesting discoveries were
brought to light. " On the south side of the transept arch was a
painting which had long been covered with whitewash ; it repre-
sented a vase containing a plant covered with leaves. Near it was
a figure of a person in canonicals ; the whole subject was sur-
rounded by a gilt border. On the opposite side of the arch there
had been a painting of the crucifixion; on the right side of the
cross was a female figure, probably intended for the Virgin Mary ;
on the left side was an ecclesiastic ; below this painting were the
figures of two more ecclesiastics. Over the north-west door was
a text painted in black letter, of no great antiquity, which was found
to cover the remains of a much older painting, of which the zig-zag
border and a wreath of fleur-de-lis were alone to be distinguished."'

* We quote from a scarce pamphlet published at Chesterfield in May, 1843, imme-
diately after the re-opening of the parish church. At page 6 is given a list of the
twenty-four escutcheons on the new roof. The first six, commencing from the east,
are those of the six Sovereigns in whose reigns it was supposed that the church was
built, enlarged, or restored, viz., William II., Edward II., Edward III., Henry III.,
Henry VII., and Victoria. The next six are those of prominent contributors to the
restoration, the Duke of Devonshire, Sir H. Hunloke, W. Evans, Esq., M.P., and
Hon. G. H. Cavendish, M.P. ; of the donor of the great pipe of the organ, Godfrey

136 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

At the east end of the church two recesses were uncovered, both
of which had served as niches over piscinas. One of these has
pertained to the high altar, and is placed in the projecting piece
of wall on the south side which divides the chancel proper from
the Foljarnhe chapel; the other is to the south side of the east
window of the north chancel-chapel where another altar doubtless
stood. The first of these niches is pierced with open carving of a
good design, and the second has a plain trefoil head, but both
appear to belong to the Decorated period. There is yet a third of
these piscina niches in the Calton chapel, below the centre one of
the three windows ; it is of some little width but not otherwise
remarkable, and may be also attributed to the same period. He-re
there are several corbel stones, or brackets of varying design, which
have at one time served as supports for images of different saints.
In this chapel, too, is the old parish chest. It is a massive
oblong structure of oak, but so bound round with iron bands and
staples that but little of the original material is displayed, and,
with its six locks, it presents an appearance of absolute impregna-
bility. But the parish registers themselves tell a different tale.
Inside the cover of the register book for 1642-1711 is fastened the
following printed handbill : —

" Sacrilege.

" Forty Guineas reward.

" Whereas some evil disposed person or persons did last night,
Wednesday 31st August, or during this morning, Thursday 1st
September, feloniously and burglariously break open aud enter the
Parish Church and Vestry room at Chesterfield, and steal from
thence amongst other articles the following plate ; two silver cups
with the word ' Chesterfield ' engraved upon them, one silver dish
with following inscription — ' Deo Triiini, dicata, Chesterfield, 1736,'
and one silver plate inscribed with the words ' Chesterfield Church,
1781 ' — Notice is hereby given that any person or persons giving
information to the churchwardens of Chesterfield as shall lead to
the conviction, &c., &c.

" 1st Sept., 1808. " G. Bossley, vicar.

i(E. H. Harwood, )

Churchwardens.
" Joseph Bee,

" Bradley— Printer. " Th6s. Turner, Parish Clerk."

Heathcote, Esq. ; and of the founder of the lectureship, Godfrey Foljarnhe, Esq. The
remaining twelve were those of the present and two preceding Archdeacons of Derby
(Butler, IJodgson, and Shirley) ; of the present and two preceding vicars of the parish
(Wood, Bossley, and Hill); of the present and two preceding Archbishops of the
Province (Moore, Manners-Button, and Howley); and of the present and two pre-
ceding Bishops of the Diocese (Eyder, Butler, and Bowstead).

CHESTERFIELD. 137

The matter is more fully explained by a written insertion in
another of the registers, where it is stated that, " the first race-
day at night (August 31st), some thieves picked the lock of the
door opposite the clerk's house, went down the north aisle, picked
that lock at the bottom, tried the chancel door opposite, which was
bolted inside ; they then picked the other chancel door lock and
the vestry, four double locks on the chest padlocks, wrenched two
clasp locks open (which they could not pick) with the sexton's
pick-axe, drank one bottle of wine, and took four with them ; took
the two silver cups, the large silver dish, and the small plate, and
got off the same way; but left two large flagons in the chest."
These two flagons were presented to the church in 1723, one by
Mr. Thomas Dowker, of Gainsborough, and the other by his sister
Mrs. Margaret Wilson, of London, the children of Mr. Thomas
Dowker, Alderman of Chesterfield.

Nor must we omit to mention, though it may scarcely seem to
come within the scope of these notes, another quaint object of
interest, that lies on one of the altar tombs in the Foljainbe
chapel. Tradition has it — and the tradition is veritably believed by
many an inhabitant of Chesterfield — that this large bone is a rib
of the celebrated Dun Cow, of Dunrnoor Heath, which was killed
by Guy of Warwick. A similar bone, having a similar legend, is
preserved at the gatehouse to Warwick Castle. The presence of
one of these ribs at Chesterfield is accounted for by the statement,
that the Dun Cow's bones were dispersed over the country in
memory of Guy's wondrous feat. The bone is seven feet four
inches in length, and its circumference varies from twelve to four-
teen inches. Near one end is engraved, in old English characters,
" Thomas Fletcher." The Foljambes sold the manor of Walton to
the Ingrains in 1633, and about three years later it was again sold
to the Fletchers, and hence the appearance of this name in the
church. The bone is, in reality, the jaw bone of a small whale,
but whether this fact was known or not, when deposited here by
Mr. Fletcher, it is impossible now to say.

The church contains much interesting old woodwork. There
are two old screens, in the north and south transepts respec-
tively, both of the Perpendicular period, though the former is
more ancient by several years. The screen in the north transept
separates that transept from the chapel opening out of it on the
east side, now occupied by the warming apparatus ; but previous
to the restoration of 1843 it formed the rood screen that divided

138 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

the chancel from the nave aud transepts.* There is nothing
unusual in its construction, but the carving below the top cornice
requires some little explanation. There are eight figures in all,
six of them representing angels bearing on their breasts the
emblems of the Passion, viz. : — (1) The scourge and hammer,
(2) the lance and nails, (3) a shield of the five wounds, (4) the
vesture, (5) the cross, (6) the crown of thorns. The remaining
two figures are a lion and an eagle, each bearing a scroll. These
latter are emblematic of two of the evangelists, and were probably
accompanied by a man and an ox when the screen was complete.
The other screen is in the south transept, and extends the whole
length, cutting off the transept from the Foljambe and Calton
chapels. It is a good specimen of late Perpendicular work,
the upper portion branching out into a wide coved cornice, after
the fashion of the elaborate screens of the fifteenth century, often
met with in the west of England. There are two doorways in it,
and over one of them two uncharged escutcheons, but these look
like comparatively modern additions, and the whole of the screen
has been much patched and repaired at different times. In two
places on this screen, on the east side, are the words " Thomas
Fletcher,"f engraved in old English characters, the same name
that occurs on "the rib of the Dun Cow."

We now com,e to the description of the fine old woodwork,
forming the reredos at the back of the altar, from which we shall
naturally pass to a consideration of the monuments. A cursory
glance at this woodwork is sufficient to show that it has pre-
viously been used -as a screen, but we find from the pamphlet,
descriptive of the alteration of the church in 1843, that this
material was formerly used in the construction of the Foljambe
pews, which used to stand at the eastern end of the nave on the
south side. There can, however, be no doubt that this beau-
tiful work originally formed a screen fencing off "the Foljambe
quire " or chapel, and then it seems likely that it was divided
into portions to form "the Foljambe pews" some time subse-
quent to the Eeformation, when the nave was being for the first
time fitted up with those family accommodations. It is probable

* The rooA-loft of this screen was extant in 1783. — Pegge's Collections, vol. iv.

f There are rmmproris entries in the early registers of North Winfield parish rela-
tive to certain Fletchers. In the year 1653, there is an entry of the death of the wife
of Thomas Fletcher, therein described as of Egstowe and Tupton ; and as if to show
some sort of a connection between the Foljambes and the Fletchers, we find that the
former name was borne by the latter as a Christian name, for in June, 157-1, the
baptism of " Anna, filia Foljambe Fletcher," is recorded.

CHESTERFIELD, DETAILS OP THE REREDOS.

CHESTERFIELD. 139

that the whole of this most interesting woodwork was not pre-
served, as it is very unlikely that it would exactly suffice to fill
up the space below the east window of the chancel. The cornice
is formed of a running pattern of vine leaves and tendrils, and at
frequent intervals appear small shields, about two inches square,
growing on the stem in the place of the legitimate foliage. These
shields are twenty-seven in number, twenty of them bear the
Foljainbe arms — a bend between six escallops — and the remainder
have a badge or device, which is difficult to describe without a
sketch, but which may be roughly rendered as, a Latin cross with
a trefoil termination to the lower limb. We cannot speak with
confidence as to the device, but it has been suggested to us that
it may have belonged to the Bretons or Loudhams. Below this
cornice the reredos is divided into eighteen panels, and in the
upper portion of each appears an escutcheon flanked for the most
part by the same device just described, alternating with the
whilom Foljambe crest — a man's leg couped at the thigh, spurred.
The eighteen escutcheons, bearing now no trace of blazonry,
are carved as follows : —

I. Barry of six (Bussey), impaling Foljambe.

II. Foljambe.

III. Foljambe, impaling a mullet (Ashton).

IV. Foljambe, impaling on a saltire engrailed, nine annulets
(Leeke).

V. A chevron between three escallops (Breton), impaling on a
bend five cross-crosslets (Loudham).

VI. A saltire ermine (Nevile), impaling Foljambe.

VII. Foljambe impaling Leeke. [Flanked by Foljambe crest,
and Loudhani on smaller shields].

VIII. Foljambe impaling Ashton. [Flanked by Breton, and a
chief indented].

IX. Foljambe impaling Loudham.

X. Loudham.

XI. Foljambe.

XII. Breton.

XIII. Loudham.

XIV. Foljambe.

XV. Breton.

XVI. Foljambe.

XVII. Foljambe.

XVIII. Breton.

140 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

The Barry of six on the first shield is for Sir Miles Bussey,
Knt. (Barry of six, arg. and az.), who married Mary, eldest daugh-
ter of Henry Foljambe and Benedicta Vernoii. The mullet in
the third shield is for Thomas Foljambe, who married Jane,
daughter and heiress of Sir Thomas Ashton, Knt., the parents of
Henry Foljambe above mentioned. The fourth shield is for the
marriage of Sir Godfrey Foljambe with Katherine, daughter of
Sir John Leeke ; this Sir Godfrey was eldest sou of Henry and
Benedict Foljambe. The fifth shield, Breton impaling Loudhain,
is for the ancient family of Bretons, who held the manor of Walton
from a very early period down to the reign of Edward III., when
Isabella, sole daughter and heiress of Sir Kobert le Breton brought
Walton by marriage to Sir John Loudham ; their only son dying
without offspring, Margaret, eldest daughter and co-heiress, brought
Walton, about 1388-9, to Thomas Foljambe, son of Sir Godfrey
Foljambe, of Darley, &c. The sixth shield, perhaps, represents
the marriage of Thomas Nevile, of Kolleston Holt, Notts., with
Katherine, second daughter of Sir Godfrey Foljambe of the fourth
shield. The remainder of the shields merely bear repetitions of
these arms with the exception of the eight, where the bearing — a
chief indented — appears. This coat might belong, according to its
tinctures, to a large number of families. Benedict, the eldest
daughter of the above Sir Godfrey, was married to Sir John
Dunham, whose arms were, az., a chief indented, or, but it is
scarcely likely that his coat would be represented by the side of
Foljambe impaling Ashton. From these armorial bearings we can
ascertain, with tolerable precision, the date of the erection of the
screen. We have here the arms of Godfrey, Mary, and Benedicta,
three of the children of Henry Foljambe ; but those of the two
younger daughters who married Towneley and Colville do not
appear, and they were therefore probably not married at this time.
This supposition would make the date of the screen about coeval
with the death of Henry Foljambe, 1503-4, to whose memory
it may have been erected. It may, however, be somewhat later
than this, as we have no proof that some of the arms are not
missing, which might have included those of Towneley and Col-
ville. If we are right in our supposition with regard to the sixth
shield representing the marriage of Godfrey's second daughter,
who was not born till 1509, there is no occasion to defer the date
of the whole or main part of this woodwork, as a close inspection
satisfies us that it is not all of one date, but that several frag-

CHESTERFIELD. 141

inents have been ingeniously fitted in of a later style of work-
manship.

Amongst the MSS. we have consulted with respect to Chester-
field church, the most interesting are those of Bassano, the
heraldic painter, whose church notes were taken about the year
1710. This is the right place to introduce what he says respect-
ing the Foljambe quire, and though it is rather puzzling to under-
stand the position it then held, and whether it was then divided
up into pews or not, there can be no doubt that he refers to the
same carving which now constitutes the reredos. " Near by (to
the Mayor's pew) in ye body of ye church eastward is a fa ire
quire belonging to Walton Hall, called Foljambe's quire, for ye
family to have service. On a border between ye supporters on 2
sides and west end are Foljambe arms often, viz., a bend between
six escallops, also a chevron between three escallops, which is first
placed, both which in some places seem to have a chief indented ;
and upon a bend 5 crosslets a label of six points, which coat is
also often a saltire ermine.'" Further on in his account, Bassauo
speaks of "a very large quire of the Foljambes of Walton, in
south of chancel. In Keynolds' church notes,* taken about 1770-80,
mention is made of " a fair quire called Foljambe's quire nearly
to the Aldermen's seats," and Reynolds subsequently prefaces
his description of the Foljambe monuments by speaking of the
raised tomb with the brasses torn off as being " at the entrance
to the Foljambe quire." It seems as if both these gentlemen must
speak of two Foljambe quires — one in the body, and the other in
the chancel of the church.

Lysons, who visited the church about 1814, notes in the "south
aisle of nave Foljambe pews, richly ornamented with vine foliage,
over which has been a gallery, apparently the rood-loft. "t

Of the other old woodwork in the church a word must be said
about the roof of the Foljambe chapel, the only part where any
interesting portions of the old roof remain. This roof is now
nearly flat, and cuts off the top of the east window. It has been
much knocked about, and patched up from time to time. Angels
with extended wings mark the ends of some of the ribs, and it is
possible that we have in these figures a portion of what the roof
was in the time of Decorated design. Some of the bosses also, at
the intersection of the beams, are carved, and a curious double

* Add. MSS., 6701.

t Lysons' Collections, Add. MSS., 9463, and 9448.

142 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

knot, the badge of the Wake family, may be here noticed. The
manor of Chesterfield, at the death of William Briwere in 1232,
went by marriage to Baldwin de Wake ; and Margaret Wake, the
last heiress of this ancient family, conveyed it by marriage to
Edmund of Woodstock, Earl of Kent, the younger brother of
Edward II.

The old pulpit of black oak is handsomely carved, though not of
gothic design. An entry in the registers for the year 1788 says :
" the pulpit and desk was decorated anew, the old ornaments having
been up 87 years." It appears to be of the date of James I., and
to much the same period may be attributed the old communion
table, which now stands in the north part of the chancel.

The pre-Keformation monuments are of considerable interest, but
are not so numerous as might have been expected from the size
and importance of the church. A large number have disappeared
from time to time as various alterations have been made in the
building ; and though the public generally attribute the demo-
lition and disfigurement of monuments to the times of war and
tumult, especially to the civil war of the seventeenth century, those
who have made a study of matters ecclesiological are well aware
that the work of destruction went on at an astonishing rate during
times of somnolence and peace. There can be no doubt that, even
within the last fifty years, a far greater destruction of monuments
has taken place than occurred during the struggle at the commence-
ment of the Commonwealth. Chesterfield church was restored with
much care and at a great outlay in 1843 ; but during the process
of that restoration several old memorials were lost or mutilated.
Amongst these was an incised slab, of which we can now learn
nothing, though we have carefully searched every part of the pave-
ment of the church. This slab bore an incised triple cross springing
from a calvary of three steps ; on the dexter side of the cross-stem
was a pair of pincers, and on the sinister a hammer. These
emblems indicate that the stone was a memorial to an armourer —
a man of some importance in the olden times. It is very unfortu-
nate that this stone is missing, as, judging from the sketch and
two or three descriptions, it was probably of the twelfth century,
and thus formed a link connecting the present building with the
original Norman structure, of which no trace is now left. This
stone, when last described (1889), was at the west end of the south
aisle.*

* There is a small outline engraving of this slab in Ford's History of Chesterfield,
p. 108.

CHESTERFIELD. 143

Another monument of great interest that we cannot now trace,
was the memorial to John Pypys, chaplain to the Guild of the
Holy Cross. It consisted of an alabaster stone, ou which was
engraven the effigy of a priest habited in a cope, with a chalice on
his right hand and a book on his left. An inscription ran round
the margin, which Ford, writing three or four years before the
restoration of the church, describes as almost entirely obliterated.
Bassano gives the inscription in his time as follows : — " Hie jacet
Dorninus Johes Pnpus capellau Gilde See Crusic, qui obiit viii die
meusis Juli, anno Dni Millo ... xi, cujus anime onmipotens
Deus propitietur Deus. Amen." The full date is said, from another
source, to have been 1411.* This stone was in the chancel near to
the communion rails. Alabaster gravestones frequently disappear
during alterations, under the hands of acquisitive masons, as they
are valuable when ground up for cement or other purposes.

Against the south wall of the south transept is a small brass
plate, about twelve inches by eight, recording the death of another
chaplain, about a century later than the preceding one. The
following is the inscription : — " Hie subtus huniantur ossa Domini
Johannis Verdou, quondam Eectoris de Lyndeby in Comitatu Not-
tinghamiae Ebor Dioc. et Capellani Cantari® Saiicti Michaelis
Archaugeli, iu Ecclesia paroch. Omnium Sanctorum de Chesterfield,
qui obiit secuudo die mensis Maii, Anno Domini M.D., pro cujus
am'ina, sic quasso, orate, et ut pro vestris animabus orare volueritis."

\\ c now turn to the consideration of a monument in the body
of the church, to which it is impossible to assign an owner with
any certainty. In the south aisle of the nave, between the first
and second windows from the east, is a handsome canopied recess,
beneath which lies the effigy of a priest. Until 1843 this monu-
ment was so much concealed by the high pews, that it escaped the
notice of several who described the church ; but, in the Gentleman's
M'l'j't-J,,' for 1789, R. G. describes it as being the effigy of a priest,
opposite the Foljambe's seat, with arms and crest in the south wall,
and bearing this inscription : — " No bollbrdys (or Eowbrdys) Godfray
rlols B." Mr. Malcolm, writing in the Gentleman's Mayazine, a few
years later, gives an engraving of this recess and effigy, but describes
it as " an arch containing a female figure, with angels supporting
the head ; the hands and other parts are effaced." He adds, " I
was not successful In any enquiry who it was that is interred
there." Now when Glover compiled his History of Derbyshire, in

* Gough's Sepulchral Monuments, vol. ii., pt. 2, p. 39.

144 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

1833, be appears to have been anxious to put in as mucb as
possible about Cbesterfield churcli, and be therefore transcribed
almost entirely the contents of these two articles from the Gentle-
man's Magazine, but without any acknowledgment of the source
from which he obtained the information. Hence he commits the
ludicrous mistake of describing two tombs under an arch in the
south wall — one of an ecclesiastic, one of a lady — whereas they
both refer to the same memorial ; Mr. Malcolm mistaking the
priestly robes for those of a female. And further than this, Mr.
Bateman, writing hi 1848,* repeats the blunder, putting it in words
of his own, and thus confirms the idea of two memorials in this
south wall instead of one. Though we cannot tell with any pre-
cision who is buried here, there can be no doubt that this recess
was constructed for the re-founder of the church, at the time when
the present body of the building and the tower, &c., were erected
in the fourteenth century. Mr. Samuel Bromley, in his poem on
Chesterfield church, from which we have already quoted, says of
this tomb : —

" Under the south wall, in the deep foundation,
In immobility among the stones,

The Founder lies, in constant preservation
From the foul tool encroaching on the tombs ;

He might, like Shakspear, curse the generation

That should with wicked hands ' disturb his bones.'

For many a century he's lain inclosed

In aweful darkness where he is reposed."

And though this conjecture is probably right, the founder's or
re-founder's identity has been still further 'mystified by having an
effigy placed beneath the recess, which is not his own, and which
was never intended for that position. A close inspection of this
effigy of the priest, and the slab on which it rests, convinces us
that it has been fitted in here at some subsequent period, for the
figure is too long for the position, and the sides of the recess have
been cut away to make room for it. Either the effigy of the
founder had been destroyed before the present figure was placed
there, or else the memorial to the founder was simply a slab,
inscribed or otherwise, •which may still exist beneath it. There are
other reasons, irrespective of the size of the figure, why we may
fairly conclude that this effigy" is not in its proper position. Priests,
as a rule, were buried facing the west, and their memorials are
similarly disposed ; and it is also very exceptional to find an eccle-
siastic buried elsewhere than in the chancel. Moreover, if any
ecclesiastic of the middle ages had been a man of good family and

* Bateman's Vestiges of the Antiquities of Derbyshire, pp. 197-200.

CHESTERFIELD. 145

sufficient wealth to enable him to take the principal part — such as
would entitle him to a founder's tomb — in a work of such magni-
tude and importance as the re-building of three-fourths of this large
pile, there can be no doubt that he would have been an office-bearer
of more or less magnitude in the ecclesiastical hierarchy, and his
memory would not have been perpetuated in the eucharistic vest-
ments of a simple priest. History, too, would not, in all probability,
have been silent if the re-founder of this church had been an
ecclesiastic ; the history of those days was chronicled by the pens
of ecclesiastics, and the munificence of their own class seldom
lacked chroniclers, especially in cases like Chesterfield, where the
church was in the hands of the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln.
This priest is clad in an alb and ample chasuble ; his feet rest
upon a lion, and his head, the hair of which is slightly wavv, has
been supported by two small angels, only one of which remains.*
We are inclined to place the date of this effigy in the earlier half
of the fourteenth century, which would thus make it of older con-
struction than the arch where it now lies. It is not unlikely that
the effigy was placed here to keep it out of harm's way when the
time arrived for the first " pewing " of the church.

But though we have succeeded, at all events to our own satisfac-
tion, in deposing this priest from any claim to be considered the
founder, we are as yet no nearer to a knowledge of who the founder
may be. The description in the Gentleman's Magazine of this
memorial is somewhat ambiguous in expression, and, until we had
referred to the Lysons' Collections, we conceived that the fragmen-
tary inscription, quoted above, was either on this tomb or on the
wall within or near the recess, and that it would therefore help to
determine the name of the founder. Biit on looking at Lysons'
account of the Foljambe pews, it becomes evident that this inscrip-
tion, in " text hand," was on a portion of the pews or their
cornice. The inscription is there given as : "no bolbrdys. Godfrey
ffol'. B." Nothing, therefore, can be deduced from this inscription,
but the proximity of the Foljambe pews to the founder's tomb at
this end of the south aisle ; though this may very fairly be regarded
as pointing to some connection between them.

After carefully considering the various families of note who were
at this time connected with the manor of Chesterfield and the

* There is an engraving of this effigy in the 7th vol. of the Journal of the Archaeo-
logical Association, p. 315. It is here also remarked that the effigy is not in its
original resting- 1

146 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

adjacent manors, and ascertaining by an exhaustive process whose
tomb it could not have been, we are led to the conclusion, as the
most likely conjecture, that this is the burial place of Sir John
Loudliam, of Walton,* who obtained that manor and other lands
near Chesterfield by marrying Isabel, the sole heiress of Sir Robert
Breton. This Sir John Loudharn was born at the commencement
of the reign of Edward II., and died at the beginning of the reign
of Edward III. (circa 1377), so that the time when he flourished
would correspond with the period when the church was re -built.
Thomas Foljambe, the second son of Sir Godfrey Foljambe, married
the eldest daughter and co-heiress of Sir John Loudham, and thus
first became connected with Chesterfield about the year 1388.

The Foljambe monuments, that now remain in the church,
are collected together in the chapel to the south of the chancel,
and are inclosed within iron rails.f Three memorials have long
ago disappeared, viz. : one to Thomas Foljambe, who married the
heiress of Loudham, of whom we have just been speaking ; another
to his son Thomas, who married the heiress of Sir Thomas
Ashton, and died 1451 ; and a third to his eldest son Thomas,
who married a Longford, but died without issue, 1469.

On the north side of the chapel is a fine altar tomb, surmounted
by a slab of dark-coloured marble, which bears the matrices of
two figures, four shields, and a marginal inscription in brass. The
brass figures (or at all events that of the lady) have been long
missing, but the inscription read as follows in 1611: — "Hie jacet
Henricus Folejambe Armiger .... Dominus .... Decimo nono
cujus anime propitietur Deus. Amen." With the omission of one
word this inscription was still here in 1710 when Bassano visited
the church, and he also gives the reading of the shields, but with
some obvious errors. The shields were — Foljambe, Vernou, Loud-
ham, Breton. Reynolds (circa 1770) speaks of the brass inscrip-
tion round the margin being missing except at the ends, and also
of " a brass portraiture of a man, the brass of the woman torn
off" implying that the brass of Henry Foljambe then existed. If
this was the case it must have been replaced, for previous visitors

* Our conjecture is confirmed by Dr. Pegge's opinion that the founder's tomb was
to the memory of one of the lords of Walton, and not of Chesterfield proper. We
had not noted this opinion of that most careful antiquary amongst his own papers,
but it is quoted by the Kev. Joseph Hunter, Add. MSS. 24, 447, f. 56.

f In oar description of these memorials, we are indebted not only to the various
authorities already quoted, but to the interesting series of papers entitled, Monn-
inenta FaJjnmbeana, which have recently appeared in the Reliquary from the pen of
Mr. Cecil G. Savile Foljambe, and to further communications kindly made to us by
the same gentleman.

CHESTERFIELD. 147

speak of both figures as missing. Bassano, on the contrary, seems
to imply that it was the knight and not the lady which was torn
off in his time. On the sides of this tomb are many small sculp-
tured figures of knights and ladies under rich canopies, represent-
ing the seven sons and seven daughters of Henry Foljambe and
his wife Benedicta (Vernon), whose effigies were formerly on the
upper slab. The names of these children were Godfrey, Thomas,
Henry, Eichard, John, Gilbert, Eoger, Helen, Margaret, Joan, Mary,
Benedicta, Elizabeth, and Anne. An agreement was entered into
between the sons and wife, and "Henry Moorecock, of Burton,
in Staffordshire, to make a tomb for Henry Foljambe, husband
of Bennett, in St. Mary's Quire, in the Church of All Hallows in
Chesterfield, and to make it good as is the tomb of Sir Nicholas
Montgomery at Colley, with 18 images under the table, and the
arms upon them ; and the said Henry in copper and gilt upon
the table of marble, with two arms at the head and two at the
feet of the same, and the table of marble to be of a whole stone,
and all fair marble. They paid in hand £5, and the other £5
when all is performed ; the 26th of October, the 2nd Henry VIII."*
It is probable that this contract refers only to the stone work of
the tomb.

Next to this altar tomb, on the right hand side on the floor,
is a slab on which are brasses of a knight and his lady.t This
is the tomb of Sir Godfrey Foljambe, eldest son of the last men-
tioned Henry, and his wife Katherine, daughter of Sir John
Leeke. The knight is in mail armour, his head resting on his
helmet, and his feet on a stag. His surcoat bears the quartered
arms of Foljambe, Loudham, and Breton. The lady wears the low
pointed head-dress, with falling lappets, of the sixteenth century,
and is clad in a long mantle which bears the arms of Leeke.
The gown is confined at the waist by a girdle fastened with a
clasp of three roses. Bound the neck is a chain supporting a
cross. These figures were on the floor of the chancel, within the
communion rails, until the restoration of 1843. The Topographer^.
falsely ascribes to Dr. Pegge a statement that these are the effigies
of Sir Godfrey Foljambe, who died in 1889, and his wife Isabel,
daughter of Sir Simon Leeke (Leche), 1308. The custodian of
the church directs the attention of the visitor to an old entry at

* Nicholl's Collectanea Topographica et Genealogica, vol. i., p. 354.

t There is an engraving of this brass in the Gentleman's Magazine, April, 1797.

J Topographer, vol. 3, p. 335.

148 DEKBYSHIKE CHURCHES.

the end of one of the registers giving this version of these brasses,
but it is not in the handwriting of Dr. Pegge, who on the con-
trary attributes them to the right persons in his MS. collections
and states that they formerly stood on an altar tomb in the
chancel. The family MSS. at Osberton confirm this, and give
the following inscription that was round the edge of the tomb : —
" Off your charity pray for the soul of Sir Godfrey Foljarnbe,
Knight, sometime one of the Honorable Council for the most vic-
torious Prince King Henry the VIII., and for ye soul of Dame
Kathrine his wife, daughter of .... Leek .... which Dame
Kathrine deceased the xxiiii. day of May in the year of our Lord
MCCCCCXXIX. and the said Sir Godfrey deceased year XX day
of December 1541." At the head of the tomh were figures of St.
John and St. Michael : at the foot St. James and St. John :
on one side figures of his three sons and their wives thus sub-
scribed— ''Jacobus prim: fil:= Alicia Fitzwillm — Godefrid 2 fil :=

Marg : Fitzwillim — Georgius 3 fil : = " : on the other side

his three daughters and their husbands — " . . . .=Anne Foljamh —
Thomas Nevill=Katherine Foljamb — Johannes Dunham=Benedicta
Foljamb.*

Against the east wall is a mural monument to Sir James Fol-
jamhe, who died 1558, eldest son of Sir Godfrey, whose brass we
have just described. This monument was erected by his grandson,
and, together with the other mural monuments to the Foljambes, was
designed at a time when artistic taste, especially as to what was
fitting in a Gothic church, was rapidly declining, and though doubt-
less costly and elaborate at the time of their erection, are a dis-
tinct blemish to the general beauty of the chancel. Bateman
truly speaks of them as " specimens of cumbrous style and horri-
ble taste." The kneeling figures of Sir James, his two wives, and
thirteen children are all represented. It bears the following in-
scription : —

Deo Opt : Max : et Posteritati

Sacrum.

Jacobo Foljambe equiti aurato, Filio natu maximo, et hseredi Godefridi Foljambe
equitis, pietate, morum, integritate, rnajorum stemmatibus, propriisque suis virtu-
tibus, ornatissimo viro, suaviter et sancte in terris mortuo, quinto Calend : Octobris
Anno Verbi Incarnati MDLVIII. Godefridus nepos hoc ei mouurnentum amoris
causa, quern memoria colit, ut debet, sempiterna devotissime consecravit. Bino
Jacobus conjugio felix, Aliciae, scilicet, uepotis et cohseredis Southamptoiiiffi
Comitis Gulielmi Fitzwilliam, herois iuclyti, uiiius filiarum Thomse Fitzwilliam de
Aldwarke et Constantiro filiae Edwardi Littletoni de Staffordiensi Comitatu, Eques-
tris Dignitatis Viri. Pulchra, numerosaque prole auctus fuit. Sois ferme.

* The two omissions in this inscription may be thus supplied : — George, the third
son. married Dorothy, daughter of Arthur Barlow ; and Francis Lowes was the hus-
band of Anne, the third daughter. Nichol's Collectanea, vol. 1, pp. 360, 361.

CHESTERFIELD. 149

The arms on this tomb are incorrectly blazoned, having been care-
lessly repainted by some one ignorant of heraldry.

Another mural monument against the east wall, ornamented with
strange emblems of death, does not appear to have had an inscrip-
tion, but is supposed to be to Godfrey Foljambe, next brother to
Sir James, who died in 1559. He married Margaret Fitzwilliam,
the other daughter and co-heiress of Sir Thomas Fitzwilliam, of
Aldwark, but died childless.

The central mural monument against the east wall, together
with the altar tomb below it, are to Sir Godfrey, eldest son of Sir
James Foljambe, who died 1585. He is represented in effigy on
the altar tomb, together with the effigy of his wife, Trothea
Terwhit. The mural monument is inscribed as follows : —

Deo Opt : Max : et Posteritati
Sacrum.

Godefridus Foljambe de Walton, Equestris ordinis, atque dignitatis vir, Jacob! filius
ex priore ejus conjuge, Alicia Fitzwilhelmorum heerede, genitus; qui innocentia,
integritate, fide, religione, hospitalitatisque laude, ornatissimus fuit. Vitae hones-
tissiine laudatissimjeque actae diem supremum clausit in manerio suo de Walton,
decimo Calend : Januarii, et Christi Kedemptoris Nostri Anno MDLXXXV. Super-
stite turn ac sublati conjugis mortem deflente, uxore amantissima Trothea, Gulielmi
Terwhitti Equitis filia; cujus anima ex corporis vinculis, tanquam ex carcere, felix,
ut in coelum fulgeat, evolavit. Reliquiis, vero, hoc loco sitis ; Godefridus, films
unicus, idemque obsequentissimus, officii et pietatis in parentem tarn amantissimum
non immemor, post funebria justa, msestissimis uberibusque cum lachrimis persoluta,
hoc conditorium pro munere extremo posuit. Sois ferine.

The altar tomb and mural monument against the south wall are
to Godfrey Foljambe, who died in 1594, the only sou of Sir God-
frey Foljambe, of the last described monument. This tomb was
erected in his lifetime, about two years before his death. The
inscription has been missing for many years, but is here supplied
from the MSS. at Osberton : —

Gens olim dictus fatisque recentibus ingens,

Fama abiit laudati jacens et morte beata,
Luna vices varias orbem sol semper eundem

Obtinet hie firmum denotat ille levem,
Ut sol fulgebant justi : Tu, fulgide Fuliamb,

Virtute atque fide firmus ut haec tua sors
Sois ferme.

En avus atque pater jacet hie et filius una

Clara conspicuus conjuge quisque sua,
Fili grate Deo, patriae atque parentibus ergo,

Tu coelo fulges : Hoc tibi fulget onus
Fulgens jam vere tarn vere dicere Fuliam,

Jam bene conveniens nomen et homen habet.

On the floor there is also a large alabaster slab, on which is
engraved a man in armour, with a marginal inscription. Hardly
a word of the inscription can now be deciphered, but fragments of

150 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

it are given by different hands during the last century, and the
whole verse ran as follows : —

" Patruus vel hie patrem natumque interjacet,
Georgi qui Foljambe nomine notua erat,
Vixerat innocuus .... probitatis culfeor est
Occubuit placide comrniserante Deo."

It is to George Foljambe, of Brimington, who died in 1588. He
was the second son of Sir James Foljambe, who died in 1558.

Finally we must notice in this chapel the unique kneeling figure
of a knight in armour, at present placed on the altar tomb to
Henry Foljambe, but with which it has no connection. This figure
originally knelt on a square pedestal about four feet high, at the
foot of the Henry Foljambe tomb. It has been sadly mutilated,
and now lacks the hands. Bassano (1710) says, "At foot of this
tombe upon a pillar of equal height has stood ye image of a
kneeling man in armour with double chaine, but it has broke
down and lyes by ye pillar in pieces, only ye legs and knees
remain in proper places." Reynolds (circa 1770) describes it as
being in the same condition, but between that period and 1794 it
must have been pieced together, for it is described and engraved
in the Gentleman's Magazine for that year as perfect on its pedestal,
with the exception of the hands. The way in which the helmet
with closed vizor is put on gives the figure a strange appearance,
as if it had a double neck or chin ; and it has been conjectured
that the helmet was the work of some restorer, who thus replaced
the lost head, neglecting to chisel away the old chin. The head
does not, however, appear to be of more modern work than the
figure itself, and a more probable supposition is that the head has
been supplied from some other mutilated effigy. At a later date
the figure must have been again removed from the pedestal (which
has quite disappeared), and placed on the end of the tomb where
it now stands. There is some little difficulty in deciding to what
scion of the house of Foljambe this monument belongs, but the
most probable suggestion is that the figure represents Sir Thomas
Foljambe (son of Francis Foljambe, the eldest son of Sir James
Foljambe by his second wife Constantia Littleton), which Sir
Thomas married Anne, daughter of Sir James Harrington, and
was buried at Chesterfield, the 15th of January, 1604. The style
of armour corresponds with this date. These five Latin stanzas
wore formerly inscribed on the pedestal on which the figure
knelt: —

CHESTERFIELD. 151

Patris illustris, generisque clari,
Unicus charus plus et modestus,
Indolis purse tenueris ab aunis

Filius hie est.

Vixit et vivo valuit parente,
Ter novem donee viguisset aunos,
Orbus huic aegri superest parenti

Anxius haeres.

Haeret ac mosret gemebundus alte
Luget et languet siinul atque vellet
Commori si fas, genitoris implet

Funera pletru.

Turn vides terrae via quae sit omnes,
Quod sibi impendet properare fatum,
Sponte sacratum tumulum paravit

Ipse paratus.

Lector hinc discas juvenis seuexque,
Vivas et cures validus mortis,
Quae venit gressu tacito sed aavi

Providus horam.

Of monuments that have now disappeared, mention may be made
of one in the south transept, described by Eeynolds as " a raised
tomb near 8 feet high to John Woodward ;"* and as the " Free stone
altar tomb for ' . . . Burgensis de Chesterfield 1599'" by E. G.,
in church notes taken in 1789, when the brasses of the bur-
gess and his wife were perfect. We believe that these brasses
remained till the work of the restoration of 1842-3 began, when
they were lost. This tomb stood in the north transept, where
there is now a large slate slab in the floor, having the matrices of
two figures — a man and woman in civilian dress, and an inscrip-
tion below them, from which probably the brasses in question were
torn. If this, however, is the slab, it must have been further
utilized very shortly after the visit of E. G., for it now also bears
the following initials and dates, deeply incised — " A. A., E. A.,
1790— T. A., 1805— T. A., 1817."

At the entrance to the Calton chapel is the matrix of what must
once have been a fiue brass, in fact by far the most handsome in
the church. On a large slab of Purbeck marble are the traces of
a full-length effigy of an ecclesiastic in a cope, with a legend on a
scroll round his head, the whole enclosed in a crocketed canopy
and again by a marginal inscription. Metallic remains still cling
to the stone in different parts, but they are only fragmentary.
We can offer no suggestion as to whom this monument has been
intended to commemorate.

* The inscription that was on this tomb is supplied in Dr. Pegge's notes. "Hie
jacet Johannes Woodward unus Aldermanorum Burgi de Chesterfield, qui obiit xxvi
die mensis Junii, Anno Dni. 1599. Et Margareta uxor ejus." At their feet were
seventeen children, five boys and twelve girls. Pegge's Collections, vol. 5. p. 157.

152 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Bassano also tells us of a brass plate which was in the house
of Mr. Richard Calton, of Chesterfield, in the year 1706, but which
must have originally been in this chapel. This Richard Calton
was only nephew to the Richard Calton mentioned on the brass.
The inscription was as follows : — " Hie jacet corpus Georgii Calton
de Stanton fil. Ric. Radulphi Calton de Stanton predicta. Quiqui-
dem Radulphus frater erat mina natu Roberti Calton de Calton
(Saxonica Caltduin) Generosi, et idem Georgius obiit 3 Sept. A.
Christi Salvatoris unici mundi 1667. Ric. Calton fil. ejusdem
Georgii obiit 7 Nov. 1673." Above the inscription was an impaled
coat thus described: — "Barry of sis pieces, in chief 3 plates, or,"
and " A saltire engrailed between four crosslets." He goes on to
explain, that, on a level piece of ground called Calton pasture,
before Chatsworth on the west side, formerly stood the mansion
called Calton.

Next in importance to the actual monuments themselves, rank
the heraldic displays in the old painted windows of the churches,
for throwing light on the connections between the ancient families
and the benefactors to the particular church or parish. In "Wyr-
ley's* copy of Flower's Derbyshire Visitation of 1569, with addi-
tions taken by himself in 1592, we find not only an elaborate
account of the heraldic glories of the windows of Chesterfield
Church,- but also interesting notices of the various old monuments
that have long ago completely disappeared, as well as a quaint
introductory paragraph, all of which appear to us worthy of repro-
duction, more especially as they have never before been published. t

" Chesterfield, the fayrest town in all the peake countrie in
Darbishier, sayd to be placed in Scarsdale, famous for feirce
incounteres made in the verie towne in the tyme of the civile
wares of Henry the third, wear was taken Robert earle ferreres,
Baldwyne Wake, and John de layley, 1265. But John Daynile,
comended for a wyse man and a valyent, stryking downe Gilbert
Hansard with his launce, delyvered him selff. Chesterfield did
annciently beloung to the earles of ferreres, of whos warlyke

* William Wyrley was a native of Staffordshire, descended from an ancient family
seated in that county as early as the reign of Edward II. He published in 1592 a
treatise on The True Use of Armorie, which is one of the very scarcest books of the
16th century. Wyrley was appointed Eouge Croix in 1604, and died in 1617.

t Harl. MSS. 6592, f. 108. The arms in the Visitation Book are simply tricked,
i.e., etched in outline with the initial letters of the tinctures, many of them so
hastily drawn that there is difficulty in reading them with precision, but in this task
we have had the valued assistance of Mr. W. de G. Birch, of the MS. department of
the British Museum, and Palaeographer of the British Archaeological Association.

CHESTERFIELD. 153

prowes our cronicles often make mention. It is placed near to a
ryver which I take it the call Doley or Iber.
In the Church thes Armes following —

1. Az., a lion rampant guardant between eight fleur-de-lis, arg.
(Holland, Earl of Kent).

2. Barry of six, or and yu., in chief three torteaux (Wake).

3. England, within a bordure, arg. (Edmund Plantagenet, of
Woodstock).

4. England and France impaled.

5. England, within a bordure, arg., impaling Wake.
G. Barry of six, arg. and az. (Grey).

7. Paly of six, or and yu., a bend arg. (Longford).

8. Loudham.

9. Az., a fess dancette, between ten billets, arg. (Deincourt).*

10. France and England, quartering, a label of three points,
em/. (Edward Plantaganet, 1339-1341).

11. England and France, quartering.

12. England and France, quartering, a label of three points,
erm. (John of Gaunt).

13. Gu., a cross moline, arg. (Beck).

14. Arg., a cross moline, yu. (Colvile).

15. Erm., a fess between six oak (?) leaves, gu. (Fitz-langley ?).

16. Az., a cross maschy (?) voided, arg.

17. Az., three mitres, or (Bishopric of Norwich).

18. England, a label of three points, each charged with as many
fleurs-de-lis (Lancaster).

19. Az., a saltire, arg., a torteau for difference (York).

20. Az, a cross moline, quarterly-pierced, arg. (Mollynes).

21. Foljambe impaling Loudham.

22. Arg., a griffin segreaut, sa. (Meverell), impaling erm., a chevron
and canton, gu. (Touchet ?).

23. Az., a fess dancettee between ten billets, or (Deincourt).

24. Gu., a saltire, arg. (Nevile).

25. France and England, quarterly, within a bordure, arg. (Plan-
tagenet).

26. Az., a cross fleury between four martlets, arg. (Edward the
Confessor.

27. Gu., on a saltire, arg., a crescent for difference, sa. (Nevile).

* This coat is in all probability intended for Deincourt, as well as number 23, and,
if the tinctures are rightly given, affords yet another variation in the arms of this
family, who were singularly capricious in their heraldric bearings. Papworth's
British Armorials, pp. 27, 28.

154 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

28. Gu., a cross botonne, or (Bockiugbam).

29. Quarterly, 1st and 4th, on a chevron three quatrefoils ; 2nd
and 3rd, a cross engrailed between four pomegranates (no tinc-
tures, but intended for Eyre and Whittington).

30. Gu., three lozenges in bend, between two double cotises, arg.,
each lozenge charged with a fess dancettee between three billets, sa.

31. Gu., a fess between six cross-crosslets, or (Beauchamp).

82. Or, a chevron, gu. (Stafford).

83. Az., three crowns in pale, or (Leigh).

84. Foljambe.

35. Eeresby.

36. Fitzherbert.

87. Arg., on a fess, az., three crosses rnoline, or (Mortymer).*

88. Or, on a fess, gu., three water-bougets, gu. (Bingham).

39. Arg., on a pile, gu., a crescent for difference (Chandos).

40. Chaworth, impaling, three roundles, a label of as many
points." (No tinctures. Courtney, ?).

The long list of arms given above are unidentified in the Visita-
tion Book, but we have supplied the names of the families to which
they belonged, in brackets, so far as we are able ; nor is it specified
in which of the numerous windows any of these coats appeared.
A few words as to the history of the manor of Chesterfield will
account for the presence of the majority of these shields in the
windows of the parish church. The manor was originally held by
the Peverels; but, after the murder of the Earl of Chester, posses-
sion was resumed by Henry II. In 1204 John granted the manor
of Chesterfield and the whole wapentake of Scarsdale to William
Briwere. Briwere's only sou died childless, and his large estates
were divided amongst his five daughters ; the manors of Chester-
field, Brimington, and Whittington, falling to the lot of Isabel, who
was married to Baldwin Wake. Baldwin Wake was possessed of
very large landed estates — no less than one hundred and forty-
eight manors, inclusive of those of Chesterfield and Boythorp,
being ascribed to him at his decease, f

From the Wakes these manors passed to Edmund Plantagenet,
Earl of Kent, by his marriage with the heiress, Margaret Wake.
Thence Chesterfield passed, as we learn by inquisitions of the
different reigns, through the Hollands, Earls of Kent, up to the

* Above this shield are the words "Dns Jo: Herstock," implying, we suppose,
that they appeared in this position on the window ; but we have not been able to
find any connection between the words and the coat.

flnq. post Mort., 10 Edw. I., No. 6.

CHESTERFIELD. 155

year 1442, when the descent of the manor became much involved
by a multiplicity of heirs, owing to the death of Thomas and
Joanna Holland without issue. The following elaborate decision
with respect to the manor was arrived at by an inquisition, held
at Derby, on the 26th of November, in the 21st year of Henry VI.,
which is worth quoting in an abbreviated form, not only as illus-
trating the heraldry just quoted, but as a proof of the intricate
relationship existing between the principal noble families in the
fifteenth century. The jurors decided — That Joanna, late Countess
of Kent, was seized of the manor of Chesterfield, etc., which Thomas
de Holland, Earl, and Alice, his wife, gave to their son Thomas
and Joanna and their heirs; that Thomas and Alice died, and
Thomas the son died «./>., and the said Joanna surviving was then
solely seized ; that the reversion descended to Edmund, Earl of
Kent, son and heir of Thomas, the late Earl, who also died s.p. ;
whereupon it descendeth to (1) Eichard, Duke of York, son and
heir of Anne, a daughter of Eleanor (Countess of March), eldest
sister and co-heir of said Edmund, late Earl of Kent ; (2) to Jocosa,
wife of John Lord de Tiptoft, another daughter and heir of said
Eleanor ; (3) to Henry Grey, Knight, son and heir of Joanna, third
daughter and heir of said Eleanor; (4) to John, Earl of Somerset,
son and heir of Mary, late Duchess of Clarence, another sister and
co-heir of said Edmund, late Earl; (5) to Alice, wife of Eichard
Nevile, Earl of Salisbury, daughter and heir of Eleanor, third sister
and heir of said Edmund, late Earl ; and (6) to Ealph Nevile, Earl
of Westmoreland, son and heir of Elizabeth, fourth sister and heir
of said Edmund, late Earl of Kent.* It will thus be seen that
the rightful heirs to Joanna, Countess of Kent, were declared to be
her two neices, and four great nephews. Eventually, Chesterfield
came to Eichard Nevile, Earl of Salisbury, through his wife Alice ;
but their line also failed, and we find in the fourteenth year of
Edward IV., that Eichard, Duke of Gloucester, and Ann his wife
(cousin and heir of Alice), gave the manor and wapentake of
Chesterfield and Scarsdale to the King, in exchange for certain
properties in Yorkshire, including the town and castle of Scar-
borough, f There were numerous and close alliances between the
Neviles, and other holders of the manor, and the families of
Stafford, Beauchamp, and Mortimer, sufficient to account for the
presence of their arms ; but it would be foreign to our object to

* Exch. 21 Hen. 6, No. 36.

t Cotton's Abhreriiifion of Records, p. 697.

156 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

pursue the history of this manor any further, but content ourselves
with that which throws a light on the history of the church and
its embellishment at different periods of its existence.

The coats of Loudhani, Foljambe, and Colvile (through inter-
marriage with Foljambe), are readily accounted for in connection
with the manor of Walton.

Longford held the manor of Boythorpe in the fifteenth century ;
and about the middle of the same century, one of the younger sons
of Eyre, of Padley, married the heiress of Whittington, and settled
at Holme Hall, on the manor of Dunston and Holme. The Dein-
courts, besides their great possessions in the neighbourhood, held
for a long period a subsidiary manor at Brampton ; and, though
we cannot now trace the landed connection of Bingham, Chandos,
Meverell, and Chaworth, with Chesterfield, we know they had
property closely adjacent, and were probably, at one time or another,
benefactors to the church.

The close identity of ecclesiastical interests between Lincoln and
Chesterfield, owing to the Dean of Lincoln being the rector, may
probably account for the arms of Bockingham, as John Bockingham
was Bishop of Lincoln from 1362 to 1398. The same reason would
also apply to the coats numbered 13 and 17, being the arms of
Beck, of Pleasley, and of the Bishopric of Norwich. The celebrated
Anthony Beck, Bishop of Durham, to whom reference is made on
several occasions in these pages, was first promoted to the Deanery
of Lincoln, and from thence to the Bishopric of Norwich in 1336.*
Benefactions would probably be made by him on his different pro-
motions, and hence the appearance of these arms. The coat
numbered 33, which we believe we have rightly appropriated to Leigh,
(not the Derbyshire Lea or Lee,) was probably to the memory of a
former chaplain of the church. Eoger de Leghe, chaplain of the
church of All Saints, at Chesterfield, held one toft and five acres
of land in the parish during the reign of Kichard II. t

With only four exceptions we have now accounted for the whole
list of forty coats, and pass on to the remainder of the Visitation.

The long list of single shields is followed by two escutcheons bear-
ing Longford, and harry of six, ar<j. and set. (Bussey). Above these
coats is written, respectively, " Eadulfe Langford militis," and

*When Anthony Beck was promoted from the Deanery of Lincoln to the Bishopric
of Norwich, the Pope took the profits of the Deanery, including the churches of
Chesterfield, Ashbourne, and Wirksworth, into his own hands, and they thus re-
mained till October, 1338. Pegge's Collections, vol. 5, p. 77.

t Inq. post Mort. 4 Ric. II., No. 109.

CHESTERFIELD. 157

" John Bushie militis ; " whilst below them is, " Radulphus Lang-
ford et Johanes Bushie, patroni conjuncti istius ecclesiaa." This is
not a little surprising, as it is generally supposed that the patronage
of the church of Chesterfield and the greater tithes always remained
in the hands of the Dean of Lincoln, and we have not been able
to ascertain that even a single presentation to the vicarage was
sold, so as to entitle any layman to describe himself as patron.
It will be noticed, however, that the word " istius" and not " hujus"
(th«t and not this) is used in this inscription on the old window,
and probably the former part of the inscription, when it was
perfect, specified some particular church or place otherwise than
Chesterfield. Entries at the First Fruits Office prove that the
families of Longford and Bussey held the alternate patronage of
the adjacent church of North Wiufield in the fifteenth century,*
and the foundation charter of the chantry of North TA'infield
(4 Henry) speaks of "the worshipful and noble men, Nichol Long-
ford, Knt., and John Bushy, Knt., Lords of ye Mannor of North-
wynfield and Patrons of ye parish church, "t Besides being part
owner of the manor of North Winfield, Sir Nicholas Longford,
the father of Ralph, possessed extensive landed property in the
county, including much within the rectorial manor of Chesterfield,
so that it is only natural that his arms should appear in the
windows. J The Busseys, also, held large estates in this neigh-
bourhood subsequent to their alliance with the Foljambes. In the
14th of Henry VIII. , Sir Godfrey Foljambe (the fourth) gives to
Miles Bussey and others the manors of Briniington and "Whit-
tington as well as lands in Chesterfield proper.§

To this follows, on the next page of the Visitation Book, four-
teen impaled coats, all relating with but two exceptions to alliances
of the family of Fitzherbert of Norbury. Apparently, these arms
were all in one window, which was probably placed here by Sir
Ralph Longford, on the marriage of his daughter Dorothy with
Nicholas Fitzherbert, who was then the heir to this wealthy and
very ancient family. The names are inscribed by the side of the

* Pegge's Collections, vol. 5, p. 211.

•f Add. MSS. 5152. This is the original charter. See the account of the church of
North Winfield.

I Sir Nicholas Longford, besides his estates in Staffordshire and Nottinghamshire,
died seized of the following property in this county : — the manors of Longford, New-
ton Solney, Parkhall, and Alfreton, and part of the manors or messuages at Piuxton,
Normanton, Bakewell, Barlborough, Killamarsh, "Whitwell, Hathersage, Bubton,
Hollington, Howsley, Morton, Pilsley, North Winfield, Hasland, Duckmanton,
Ashover, Brampton, and Boythorp. Inq. post Mort. 21 Edw. 4, No. 52.

<j Nichol's Collectanea, vol. 1, p. 355.

158 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

shields, and are as follows : — Savage and Fitzherbert, Marshall and
Fitzherbert, Babiugton and Fitzherbert, Fitzherbert and Brad-
borne, Cotton and Fitzherbert, Cokayne and Fitzherbert, Pole and
Fitzherbert, Lister and Fitzherbert, Fitzherbert and Longford,
Fitzherbert and Babington, Fitzherbert and Bothe, Comberford and
Fitzherbert, Longford and Trafford, and Longford and Ferrers.*
We are able to give the marriages represented by each of these
coats, with the exception of the first, as we have failed to trace
any alliance between Savage (or Daniel) and Fitzherbert, t though
doubtless one not mentioned in the pedigrees took place.

Nicholas Fitzherbert of Norbury, who died' in the reign of
Edward IV., married for his first wife Alice, daughter of Henry
Bothe of Derby, by whom he had issue —

I. Kalph Fitzherbert of Norbury, who married Elizabeth, daugh-
ter and heiress of John Marshall of Upton.

II. John Fitzherbert of Etwall, who married Margaret, daughter
of Eobert Babiugton.

III. Joan, who became the wife of John Cotton, of Hampstall.
Ralph, the eldest son of Nicholas, had issue —

I. John Fitzherbert of Norbury, who married Bennett, daughter
of John Bradborne of Hough.J

II. Sir Anthony Fitzherbert, the celebrated judge.

III. Dorothy, the wife of Thomas Comberford, of Comberford,
Warwick.

IV. Editha, the wife of Thomas Babington, of Dethick.

V. Agnes, the wife of Richard Lister, of Eowton, Salop.

John, the second son of Nicholas, had, with other issue, two
daughters — Jane and Barbara, who were married respectively to
John Pole of Eadborne, and to Thomas Cokayne of Ashborne.

John Fitzherbert of Norbury, the eldest son of Ralph, had issue,
by his wife Bennett, Nicholas who married Dorothy, daughter of
Sir Ralph Longford. But there were no children to this marriage,

* We have not encumbered the page with the description of these arms, as so
many of them have already been given. Those that have not previously appeared
are: — arg., a pale lozengy, sa. (Savage); arg., on a bend, gu., three mullets, or
(Bradborne); az., an eagle displayed, arg. (Cotton); erin., on a fess, sa., three
mullets, arg. (Lister); arg., three boars' heads erect, sa. (Bothe) ; and arg., a griffin
segreant, gu. (Trafford).

' f There is some doubt about the marriage of Henry Fitzherbert (father of Nicholas
mentioned in the text), who flourished in the reigns of Henry IV. and Henry V., and
possibly he married one of the Cheshire Daniels, from whom the Savages took their
later arms.

\ Not " Bradbury of Hoo in the Peake,'; as given in the Topographer, vol. 2, p. 226.

CHESTEEFIELD. 159

and Norbury with the family honours reverted to his uncle Sir
Anthony. *

The impaled coat of Longford and Ferrers represents the mar-
riage of Sir Kalph Longford with Isabel, daughter of Sir Thomas
Ferrers ; and that of Longford and Trafford represents the mar-
riage of their son Nicholas with Margery, daughter of Sir Edward
Trafford.f

To these arms succeed single ones of Deincourt, Lister, and
Montfort (Bendy of eight, or and az.). The powerful family of
Montfort had considerable influence in Derbyshire ; in the reign
of Henry III., Simon de Montfort was governor of Peak Castle,
and Peter de Montfort of the Castle at Horsley. Then follow the
words — " An old raonimeut of Ayncourt in mayle with a side vest-
ment of whyte, a danc and billetes sables thereon, offering up
his shield. A cross-legged moniment of the same armes, viz. A.
a daunce and billetes sable." There is now no remnant or tradi-
tion of these two ancient effigies, or of the third one mentioned
below. Another shield of Longford is then tricked, with the com-
ment that it is " verie old," and it is foUowed by a quartered
coat, 1st and 4th gu., a chevron vaire, arg. and sa. (Kniveton) ;
2nd and 3rd, arg., a chevron, gu., between three martlets, sa. (Bagott).
Henry Kniveton of Bradley, in the reign of Henry VI., married
Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of John Bagott of Blythefield. To
this succeeds a shield of six quarteriugs, and above it is written
" Eaff Kesbie." These quarterings are Reresby, Deiucourt with a
label of three points, Norman vile, a second coat borne by Norman vile
(described in a Reresby quartering at Ashover), Gotham, and the
coat borne by the wife of Sir Adam Reresby. J The connection of

* There are slight discrepancies between different pedigrees of this family, but
we believe the above to be accurate. There was further issue to the marriages
quoted, but those alliances only are given which serve to explain the heraldry of the
Visitation. There was also an early alliance between the Longfords and Fitzher-
berts iu the reign of Edward III., when William Fitzherbert (grandfather of Nicholas
temp. Edward IV.) married Alice, only daughter of Nicholas Longford ; and a later
one, when Dorothy, the youngest daughter of Sir Anthony Fitzherbert, was married
to Ealph Longford. Dorothy took for her second husband Sir John Porte, of Etwall.
See Harl. MSS. 5809 ; also 6592, ff. 4, 20, and 2218, f. 53.

t Harl. MSS, 1093, f. 30.

J Sir Adam Reresby, Lord of Thribergh and Ashover, 9 Edward II., was the son
of Ealph Reresby by Mary, heiress of Normanvile. His wife must also have been
an heiress according to the pedigrees, and bore arg., three bendlets, gu., but her name
does not appear in full in any one of them. Harl. MSS. 1420, f. 53, gives her name
as Thegne, do. 1394, f. 42, Thegive, and do. 6070, f. 178, Therhegton. From Harl.
MS. 1394, where there are numerous early deeds of the Normanvile family, it seems
that the second coat (arg., three pair of gemelles, on a canton, gu., three fusils con-
joined in fess) introduced into the Reresbv quarterings from the Normanvile family,
was that borne by the mother of Margaret who married Ralph Reresby. See also
Collins' Baronetage, vol. ii., p. 290.

160 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

the two famous families of Kniveton and Keresby with Chester-
field may only have been that of benefactors to the church, though
both can be proved to have at one time held portions of land
within the rectorial manor, and both were connected with the
Deincourts. The alliance of Foljambe and Vernon was also noted
by their two escutcheons, and over them " Henricus Foljambe
Dns de Walton." Wyrley's minute account of the memorials of
this church concludes with the mention of another effigy: — "Thear
is hear another cross-legged moniment which they say to be
Braylsford, but ther is noe note thereof remaining."

There appears to have been much destruction of this heraldic
glass shortly after Wyrley's visit, for at the Visitation taken August
20th, 1611, there were only twenty-four escutcheons remaining.*
Bassano makes no mention of the windows, and Reynolds notes
only a few, but specifies git., a saltire, arg., in both the west
windows of the aisles to the nave. These were the arms of
Nevile. In the year 1442 Richard Nevile, Earl of Salisbury, be-
came possessed, as has been already mentioned, of the manor of
Chesterfield in the right of his wife Alice, one of the co-heiresses
of Earl Edmund. The existence of these arms in that particular
part of the church is interesting, as it gives rise to a reasonable
presumption that the alterations of the Perpendicular period in
the nave were made by the Neviles. It will be remembered that
it was pointed out that the tracery in the two west windows of
the aisles was altered at the time that the present clerestory was
erected. R. G., who visited the church in 1789, notes, in the
Gentleman s Magazine, a satirical representation in glass of a mitred
fox preaching to geese, and a cock, which we believe to have
been in the East window of the Foljambe chapel.

There were, however, still fewer remnants of the ancient heraldic
glory of these windows left when the time came for the restora-
tion that was completed in 1843.f But the east window of the
chancel then contained the two most interesting of all the histori-
cal coats described by Wyrley, viz., the arms of Plantagenet and
Wake. These were removed to make way for the new window to
Archdeacon Hill, and in the pamphlet describing the restored

* Harl. MS. 5809. Topographer, vol. 3, p. 344.

t Glover's account of the church (1833) mentions also " a bear collared, quartering
three peons" (sic), which he describes as being the arms of the first Vicar of Ches-
terfield. This is a most singular mistake, for the first Vicar of Chesterfield was
appointed early in the twelfth century, and the coat in question was doubtless
intended for the quartered arms of Thomas Beresford, of Fenny Bentley, and Agnes
(daughter and heiress of Robert Hassall) his wife ; and they were married in the
fifteenth century. See the account of Sutton Scarsdale Church.

CHESTERFIELD . 161

church, from which we have already quoted, it is lamented that
they had not been replaced. Fortunately, however, they were not
destroyed, and may now be seen in the upper tracery of the south
window of the Foljambe chapel. They have been there inserted
by an ignorant hand, for the arms of Wake are inverted and
resting on the top of Plantagenet. In the same place may also
be seen two more of the old shields, gu., a cross moline, arg., and
arg., a cross moline, gu., and this is all that now remains of the
ancient heraldic glazing of All Saints', Chesterfield, whose windows
once shone with the many coloured record of generation after
generation of its time-honoured families.

Although there are only two chantries mentioned under Ches-
terfield, in addition to the Guild, hi the Chantry Koll, we find
accounts of the foundation of three ; but this omission probably
arose from the endowments of the oldest chantry having been
already appropriated or lost at the time of the compilation of
chantry property in the reign of Edward VI.

The one not mentioned in the Eoll is the chantry at the altar
of St. Mary Magdalen. It is mentioned in the Patent Bolls, under
the date of the 1st of May, 1381,* but, according to the registers
at Lichfield, it must have been founded before 1364. It was situ-
ated within the chapel of St. Michael, and Dr. Pegge supposes it
to have been founded by Koger de Chesterfield. In 1384, William
Langstaff de Lincoln, priest, was admitted " ad perpetuum cantari-
um ad altare Ste Marie Magdalene," in the church of All Saints,
Chesterfield, by Eichard de Chesterfield, clerk and patron, being
vacant by the death of " Roger de Lyeghes." Possibly, however,
as Pegge suggests, there may have then been only one altar
common to the two saints, though separate endowments. Ralph
Durant is mentioned as patron in 1431, and in 1450 Nicholas
Durant ia registered as presenting to the chantry of St. Mary
Magdalen.

With respect to the chantry of St. Michael, the following is the
entry in the Chantry Roll : —

" The Chauntrye of St. Micliaell founded by Roger Chesterfield for
ij prests to synge att the alter of St. Mychaell to maytayne Godds
service and to praye, etc., by foundacon xxiiij Nov. A.D. M1 iiijc iiiju
xU vijo? clere xliij^ vs xrf with xiiijfo' receyvyd of the revemieux of
the late monastrye of Thurgarton by vertue of a decre owte of the

* Pat. Eot. 4 Richard II., pars 2, m. 1.

162 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Courte of Augnientacyons dyrynge the Incumbents lyffes, and viijs
imployed uppou obytts. Phil Durante and Eych Hyle (who is
absente) Chauntrye prist. It hath a mancyon howse prised at \s
by yere. Stock xvis ujd a chalys the Vycar there had in custody e
and roune awaye with it ij yeres paste."

Lysons says that this chantry was founded in 1357, and is not
in error, as stated by Mr. Walcott, for the Chantry Eoll is un-
doubtedly itself in fault.* The Eoyal License was granted to Roger
de Chesterfield, to alienate messuages and lands for the foundation
of this chantry in the 31 Edward III., and a further license to
alienate lands in Chesterfield and Newbold, for the same chantry,
was granted in 4 Eichard II. to Richard de Chesterfield and Robert
de Derby, t An inquisition of the same year in which the license
was granted, shows that Eoger de Chesterfield left twelve acres of
land in Chesterfield, and tenements and land to the value of £10
in Eckington, to a certain chaplain ; another inquisition, a few
years later, ascribes to the said Eoger and others large endowments,
including a mill and a hundred acres of land in the parishes of
Crich, Ash over, and Matlock, for the same purpose ; whilst a third
attributes to Eichard de Chesterfield and Thomas Durant the gift
of a messuage in Chesterfield to certain chaplains, for the alienation
of which, according to another roll, they had to pay a fine of ten
shillings.^ According to the registers at Lichfield, the chantry of
St. Michael was new-founded and re-ordained in 1370 by Eichard
de Chesterfield, the then patron, who presented Henry de Foston
to the charge. In 1421 Ealph Durant presented William Worsley ;
and in 1450 Nicholas Duraut presented John Balme. We have
already seen from his brass that John Verdon, who died in 1500,
was priest of this chantry. It may here be remarked that Eoger
and Eichard de Chesterfield were brothers, and both of them eccle-
siastics ; the former holding a rectory in the diocese of Lincoln.
Thomas Durant married their sister, and hence the patronage of
the two chantries of St. Mary Magdalen and St. Michael passed to
that family. §

The Chantry Roll also contains the following entry with respect
to the united Guild of the Blessed Lady and the Holy Cross : —

V

* Reliquary, vol. xi., p. 86.

t Copies of these Charters, and of others relative to the Guilds, were made from
the documents in the Chesterfield Corporation Chest by Mr. Wolley, in 1790.
Add. MSS. 6667, ff. 697 to 713.

JInq. post Mort. 31 Edw. HI., No. 2, 30; 35 Edw. m., No. 2, 46; 46 Edw. III., No.
2, 33 ; Kot. Orig., 46 Edw. III., No. 36.

§ Pegge's Collections, vol. 5, pp. 98, 99.

CHESTERFIELD. 1 63

" The Gylde or Slessyd Ladt/e and the Holy Crosse, founded by
Jo. Maunsffelde and other to fynde prests to say and celebrate
masse and other Divine service, and to praye for the soule
of K. Bycharde, who graunted his lycence for the corporacon
thereof; also for help and mynystracoyn of all maner of sacra-
ments and sacramentales within the parishe and other charytable
dedes for the paryshe is verye large beynge therein a greate
cure to the nombre of MM. people, and is devyded into manye
hamletts and villages dystannte some iij. myles or more, so that the
Vycar and his parishe priste in the tyme of Lente and Easter and
some other tyemes cannot suffice to the mynsystracon of behoffe-
full matters. The deane of Lyncolne being persone and hathe the
most parte of the proffitts of the Parishe. xv/i. xs. clere xxxiiifo'.
vii.s. xic/. besyds iiijZt. xviijs. xi. in rents resolute, xxvis. viijs. for
the baylyffes fee xliib. fyndynge of yerlye obyts, and moneye for
reparacons of the tenements and cotages and fyndyuge of bread
wyne and waxe for the mynystracyon of Sir Rich. Newbolde, Sir
Will. Bagge, Sir Rich. Bonsall, and Sir Will. Hethecote, and Sir
Rich. Whiteworth, Stypendarie prists. E verye of them hathe a
mancyon prised att iiis. iijd. a pece. Stock ix&. xjs. xjd."

The Guild of St. Mary was commenced on the 1st of January,
1218, for the object of holding certain services, and the better to
assure the liberties of the town. The statutes and regulations of
this guild are of much interest.* The members had in the first
instance to swear to uphold the rights of the church, and of the
lord of the place, and to guard all their liberties, within town and
without, and to give trusty help thereto whenever it may be needed.

" A chaplain shall celebrate services on days named, and shah1 be
paid what the Alderman, Steward, and Dean, think right.

" Each brother shall bequeath in his will, towards masses for the
souls of his brethren, twelve pence out of every pound of his chattels ;
but he need not bequeath more than forty shillings in all. If he
have less than twenty shillings let him do what he likes with it.

" On the death of any brother, xiii. wax lights shall be found by
the guild, to set round his body, and shall be kept burning until he
is buried ; and each brother shall pay a penny at the time of burial,
or else make offering afterwards for the soul, as the Alderman thinks
best.

" If, in the haps of life, heavy losses befall any brother, whether

* We take the account of these statutes from English Guilds, oue of the publica-
tions of the Early English Text Society for 1870.

164: DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

by fire, by murrain, by robbery, or by any other mishap — so that
such loss come not through his own lust or gluttony, or dice-play,
or other folly — each brother shall give him, in relief of his loss, at
the first, twopence ; and again, if he needs it, twopence more ; and
yet a third time, if necessary.

" If any brother, through age, or loss of limb, or leprosy, comes to
so great want that he cannot support himself, the brethren, who
are able, shall, in turn, supply him with needful food, or shall
find for him a house of religion where he may stay during life.

" The deaths of past Aldermen, and of Hugh of the Peek (either
founder or benefactor), shall be yearly kept by the brethren, even
to the end of time.

" If any brother shall have wronged another in any way, by
violence, either with malice aforethought, or through ignorance, or
by backbiting, or by foul words ; or shall have sworn at his brother,
or evil-spoken of him, or in any other manner wronged him; and
if this shall be proved by two of the brethren, and he is unwilling
to make fitting amends for the wrong, on the friendly suggestion
of his brethren ; then he who has been wronged may seek redress
howsoever he likes ; and the other, for his rash presumption, shall
be put out of the guild, or punished in such a manner as the
Alderman and his brethren shall think well.

" Every brother shall, in every strait and trouble, have the help of
his brethren towards defending himself, in due course of law, against
any adversary whomsoever.

" If any brother has undergone damage, or loss, or cost, for the
common welfare of the guild, or the liberties of the town, the
brethren are bound to make good to him such damages, and shall,
with others of the town, give him counsel and help.

" The Alderman, with the counsel and help of the brethren, shall
uphold and defend all the liberties belonging to the town against
all disturbers and hinderers of those liberties ; and xii. men, or as
many as are wanted, must be chosen by him, or by the steward of
the guild when he himself has not leisure, and be sent before the
Justices, or elsewhere, upon the business of the town, wherever
need shall be.

"The Alderman shall look after the house as well as he is able ;
and the Dean shall take care that summonses are duly sent to the
brethren. The Dean shall also receive the fines, and hand them
over to four scribes (? stewards), who are bound to keep the goods
of the guild, and to improve them as much as they can ; and they

CHESTERFIELD. 1 65

may keep them for a whole year, if they well use them. After-
wards, the goods shall be entrusted to others, as the guild thinks
fit. All who hold the goods shall swear that they will duly restore
them on a day named, and that they will use them for the profit
of the guild.

" Whoever makes known the affairs of the guild, and it is proved
by two brethren, shall be put out as perjured, and his example
shall be held up to everlasting scorn.

" All the brethren shall meet twice a year, to look into and order
the affairs of the guild, and to take any account of those who have
in hand the goods of the guild.

" The Dean and the Steward shall find wax lights when necessary,
taking four or three brethren to advise with them ; and shall, once
or twice a year, give an account of their expenses over the lights.

" Two brethren shall be chosen to receive all rents and payments
due to the guild, and to pay what is due from the guild. And
the Alderman, and the Dean, and the Steward, shall have a roll,
containing the names of those who pay yearly rents, and what and
when each pays, and what has to be paid thereout to others.

"Charters, muniments, etc., shall be kept under the seal of the
Alderman and the Dean, and under the common seal of the guild.

"The chaplain shall keep vestments and books, giving an inventory
of them.

" Each brother shall on Friday, in Pentecost week, give Id. to-
wards alms, and another for wax.

" Every incoming brother shall, on his entry, pay to the clerk Id.
and to the doorkeeper Id.

" When any brother is summoned to come to any meeting touch-
ing the affairs of the guild, and he does not come, being in town
and not sick, he shall pay Id. to the light."

This guild was possessed of extensive landed property, and the
influential families of the neighbourhood vied with each other in
obtaining admission to its ranks. Thus in the third year of
Henry V. Thomas Foljambe was Alderman of the Guild, and in
the reign of Henry VII. the roll of the fraternity contained,
amongst others, the names of Robert Barley (Alderman), Henry
Foljambe and Benedicta his wife, Godfrey Foljambe, John Fol-
jambe, Peter Frechevile and Matilda his wife, Roger Eyre and Ellen
his wife, William Barley and Christian his wife, and John Lyuacre
and Katherine his wife.* The Guild was endowed in the time

* Nichol's Collectanea, vol. i., pp. 345, 352.

166 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

of Richard II. by Thomas Durant aud others with fifteen-and-a-
half messuages of land and twenty-two acres of pasture in the
immediate vicinity of Chesterfield, in addition to the returns from
four markets. In the reign also of Henry IV. lands were left, by
John Cm-son and others, in Chesterfield, Dronfield, and Boythorp,
to the Alderman, brothers, and sisters of the Guild, towards the
support of two chaplains.*

On the 2oth September, 1393, the Royal license was granted to
William de Horbury (clerk), Richard Porter (vicar of Chesterfield),
Robert Cause, Henry de Maunsfeld, Hugo Draper, William de Lowe,
John de Assh, and others, to found the Guild of the Holy Cross
in the church of All Saints at Chesterfield. It seems that the
original endowment consisted of seven messuages, five shops, six
acres of land, and three of pasture, all in the parish of Chester-
field.t

There was also an ancient Guild of the Smiths at Chesterfield,
and Mr. Toulmain Smith, the author of the work on English
Guilds from which we have already quoted, says that it existed
separately up to 1387, and was then amalgamated with the guild of
the Holy Cross. But there is either a mistake in this date, or else
the royal license of the 16th of Richard II. is only a refounding or
confirming of an older license. Mr. Smith remarks, as a striking
peculiarity of this guild, previous to its union with that of the
Holy Cross, that it had no patron saint, and he conjectures
that some local circumstances may have made the priests unpopular
in Chesterfield. Even the Guild of St. Mary treated the priestly
services with a slightness and coldness that were very unusual in
these institutions, but this one does not so much as invoke the
patronage of any saint, and is simply the Guild of the Smiths
(fabrorum). In many of its rules it closely resembles a modem
Trades Union, of which these Guilds were in truth the prototype.
The allowance to a sick brother was a halfpenny a day ; brothers
fallen into poverty to go singly to houses of wealthy brothers, and
be entertained there and given a halfpenny ; brethren were to
defend an imprisoned brother ; and rebellious members were to be
fined and excommunicated without appeal.

The Church, also, possessed a chantry specially attached to the
Guild of the Holy Cross, as appears from the Chantry Roll : —

* Inq. post Mort. 16 Eic. II, No. 146. Pat. Rot. 16 Ric. II, pars 2, M. 28. Inq. ad
quod damnum 5 Hen. IV, No. 34 ; and 7 Hen. IV, No. 4.

t Add. MSS. 6667, f. 711. Inq. post Mort. 16 Ric. II, No. 2, 89.

CHESTEEFIELD. 1 67

" TJie Chauntrye att the alter of the Holye Crosse founded by Hugh
Draper to synge inorowe masse and other divyne service cvjs. viijc?.
owte of the revennux of the late monasterye of Beachylff.* Will.
Kynge Chauntrye Prist, paid by the Eeceyver of the Corte of Aug-
mentacyous. Chalys etc. founde by the towne att ther costs."

This Church probably possessed several side altars in addition
to those specified in the Chantry Eoll. Wills pertaining to the
Foljambe family make mention of the Lady chapel, and the chapel
or altar of St. George. It appears that the Lady chapel is the
principal burial place of this family. Henry Foljambe, of Walton,
by his will, dated 15th August, 1485, appoints his body to be
buried in the church of Chesterfield "before our Lady; "he fur-
ther leaves to the Guild 6s. 8d., and to the Vicar his best horse.
One of the executors was Sir John Puppys, the chaplain to the
Guild of the Holy Cross, whose tomb we have discussed. Roger
Foljambe, of Linacre Hall, by his will, dated 19th January, 1526,
directs "my body to be buried near my brother Gilbert in our
Lady quire, in the church of All Saints, in Chesterfield," and
seven marks were left by the same document to priests, to pray
for his soul " at our Lady's altar " for four years. Sir Godfrey
Foljambe of Walton, by will of the 23rd Henry VIII., directs,
" my carcase to be buried in the chappell of St. George besides

my lady my wife, in Chesterfield My funeral mass and

dirge, with all other suffrages and obsequies to be done and minis-
tered for my soul according as worship requires after my degree ;
my sword, helmet, with the crest upon the head, and my coat of
arms to be hanged over my tomb, and there to remain for ever."t

The Taxation Eoll of Pope Nicholas IV. (1291) is content to
mention merely the total value of the different rectories and vicar-
ages there enumerated ; the church of Chesterfield, with its chapels,
being valued at £73 6s. 8d., and the vicarage at £6 13s. 4d. ; but
the Valor Ecclesiasticus^ of Henry VIII. gives full details of the
vicarage, charities, and guilds, which we here reproduce, as they
contain many interesting particulars.

* The Valor Ecclesiasticus (27 Hen. VIII.) mentions an appropriation of eight
marks a year, out of certain lands in Chesterfield, Brampton, Wadshelf, Wigley,
Heath, and Newbold, " Aldermanno de Chestrefeld et confratribus ejus pro sustenta-
cione cujusdem capellani matutinalem missam quotidie celebrantes."

f Nichol's Collectanea, vol. 1, pp. 351, 358; vol. 2, p. 83.

JFor full particulars as to the date, names of the commissioners, etc., of the Valor
Ecclesiasticus for the Deanery of Chesterfield, see the preface.

168

DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

CHESTREFELD VICAR.'
Dominus Decanus Lincoln' Patronus ibidem.

Dominus Oliverus Flyut vicarius ibidem habet communibus annis ut sequitur.

In primis mansionem cum duobus parvis croftis continentibus tres £ s. d.

rodas terre per annum - xviij

Item in decimis agnellorum - - xlvij x

Item in decimis lane lv

Item in paschali rotulo vij ij

Item in oblationibus - xlij iiij
Item in decimis minutis videlicet in porcellis ancis ovis canabo et

lino xv iiij ob'

Item in mortuariis communibus annis - vj viij

Summa - - xv x viij ob>
Unde resoluta Archidiacono Derbie proscenagio et procuragio - x vij

De claro xv j ob'

Decima pars - xxx q'

CHESTREFELD CANTARIA.
Jacobus Durant Patronus ibidem.
Dominus Philippus Durant dominus Robertus Eyre cautariste ibidem habent ut

sequitur.
In primis mansionem xiiij. cum cotagia in Chestrefeld predicta £ B. d.

duodecimi acras terre ibidem in redditu per annum ... iiij
Item de priore et conventu de Thurgreton in perpetua pensione viij

Summa - - xij

Unde resoluta annuatim decano Lincolnensi pro capitali redditu - v iij

Item resoluta Gilde Sancte Crucis ibidem pro capitali redditu vj

Item resoluta annuatim in obitu domini Richardi Chestrefeld et
domini Rogeri Chestrefeld capellanoruin ac f undatorum cantarie
predicte ex ordinatione - vij

Summa resoluta - xij ix

De claro - - xj vij iij

Decima inde

xxij viij ob'q'

CHESTREFELDE GILDA SANCTE CRUCIS.
Aldremaunus de Chestrefeld et Confratres ejusdem Patroni.
Dominus Willielmus Hethcote cantarista ibidem habet mansionem £
cum gardino per annum ---------

Item in annuali redditu - iij

vj

d.

iiij
viij

Summa
Decima inde -

CHESTREFELDE GILDA BEATE MARIE.
Aldermannus de Chestrefelde et confratres Patroni ejus dem.
Dominus Henricus Trigg Dominus.
Hugo Haywodde et Dominus Willielmus Ragg cautariste ibidem

et quilibet corum habet mansionem per annum iijs. iiijd. summa
Item in redditu soluto per aldermannum et confratres dicte gilde

per annum cuilibet cantariste predicto vu

Summa -
Decima inde

CHESTREFELD CANTARIA.
Aldermannus et confrates sui Patroni.
Dominus Richardus Newbolde cantarista ibidem habet annuatim

XXX]

in pecumiB

Decima inde -

vuj marcos.

£ s. d.
x viij

CHESTEKFIELD. 169

In addition to the particulars relative to the various chantries
formerly extant in this church, which may be gleaned from the
Valor Eccltsiasticus and the Chantry Rolls, an ancient charter in
the Chesterfield corporation chest makes mention of yet another
endowment for the singing of masses and other ecclesiastical pur-
poses. According to this charter, William de Calall, Henry de
Maunsfield, Adam de Brown de Chesterfield, William de Lowe of
the same, and Eobert Elie, of Newhold, granted in the 9 Eichard
II., to John del Loft and Maud his wife, a messuage in " Hally-
wellgate," which they had of gift of the said John del Loft, for
their lives, paying to the said Wrilliam de Calall, &c., and their
heirs and assigns, one red rose at the feast of the Nativity of St.
John the Baptist, and keeping the messuage in good and sufficient
repair. And William de Calall, <fcc., granted for ever a certain
yearly rent of lOd. out of the said tenement, for maintaining of an
obit for their souls, and for the souls of John and Maud del Loft,
and of Joan, late wife of said John, and of Margaret, former wife
of said John. The mass was to be celebrated in the church of
Chesterfield on the Lord's day next after the feast of the Conversion
of St. Paul ; lOd. was to be then distributed for the supper made in
memory with the church and town ; 2d. to the clerks serving God
and the Blessed Mary within the church ; 4d. for ringing the bells ;
and 4d. in oblations to every chaplain celebrating mass.*

It now remains to make a note or two respecting the bells. Up
to the year 1700 the tower only contained six bells, but in that
year another was added by the will of Mr. Paul WTebster, and a
few years subsequently the eighth was added by public subscrip-
tion, t At the end of one of the old registers is an entry to the
effect that in the year 1774 the peal of eight bells was rehung,
the sixth bell being newly cast. Another entry tells us of the
curious way in which the salary of the first organist of Chester-
field church was raised. The organ, built by Schnetzler, for £500,
was opened on the 21st of October, 1756, and the organist was
maintained partly by the pew rents of the west gallery, then erected,
and partly from the extra fee of two shillings charged to those who
required the great bell tolling on the occasion of a funeral. " Others
and paupers " had to be content with the tolling of the fourth or fifth
bell. But in 1788 an order was made that henceforth the great
bell should be rung for all persons.

•Add. MSS., 6667, f. 713.

I Hunter's Collectious. Add. MSS. '24, 447, f. 137.

170 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

In 1819 the old peal was dislodged and a new peal of ten bells
took their place, cast by Thomas Mears, at a cost of between four
and five hundred pounds. The bells are one and all simply in-
scribed with the name of the founder and date. The following
were the inscriptions upon their predecessors : —

I. " Multi numerantur aniici, (many friends are numbered.) —
Geo. Swift, P. Wildebore, Churchwardens, 1718."

II. " Haec campana est ex dono Pauli Webster. — Geo. Swift, P.W.,
C.W. — Laus Domini iiostre mobilitate viget (The praise of the Lord
flourishes by our motion.) 1700."

III. " Sweetly tolling, men to call,

To taste on meats that feed the soul.
George Oldfield. 1612."

IV. " Jesus be oure speed. 1612."

V. " God save his Church. 1612."

VI. "John Wood, vicar: H. Withers, E. Marsden, Churchwar-
dens. Thomas Hilton, of Wath, founder. 1774."

VII. " George Shaw, Peter Dowker, friends to this bell. — Anthony
Legat, Wil. HoUand, Wardens. 1661."

VIII. "I.H.S. Hfec campana sacra fiat Trinitati beatae. (Let
this bell be made sacred by the Blessed Trinity.) "

These inscriptions from the old bells are copied from Ford's His-
tory of Chesterfield, and to the account of the last bell is added the
note, " The oldest bell in the steeple." We can confirm the cor-
rectness of this note from an excellent source, as Dr. Pegge gives
a drawing of the founder's mark on the large bell.* This mark
consists of a shield with a cross in the centre between the initials
G. H. ; and below these letters are respectively placed a fylfot
cross and a section of a bell with the clapper exposed. A simi-
lar mark occurs on the second and third bells of the little
church of Beeley in this county, both of which are without date,
but one of them bears a pre-Eeformation inscription — " Sancte
Georgii orate pro nobis."t Besides the peal of ten bells the belfry
also contains a small bell 15£ inches in diameter and about 18
inches in height. Eumour has it that it was formerly used as the

* Pegge's Collections, vol. ii.

t An engraving of this bell-mark is given by Mr. Llewellynn Jewitt in the
Reliquary for October, 1872. It is probably the bell-mark of Godfrey or Gilbert
Heathcote of Chesterfield. These two names were borne by several genei'atious of this
family in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The simpler bell-mark of G. H.
or B. H. with a fylfot cross in the base is of frequent occurrence in Derbyshire bel-
fries. These were probably used by the descendants of G. H., whose more elaborate
trade-mark is described in the text. See the note to the Ashover bells, p. 37 ; also
the description of the Barlborough bells, p. 60.

BELL-FOUNDERS' MARKS,

CHESTERFIELD. 171

curfew bell, some stoutly affirming that it fulfilled this office in the
days of the Normans. But though it is destitute of ornament or
inscription, it is clearly of far later date than the first William.
During the time that Chesterfield served as a depot for French pri-
soners at the commencement of the century, this hell was used to
summon them to their quarters at nightfall. The name, however,
by which this bell is generally known — the Pancake bell — tells of
another interesting old custom ; and the custom of ringing it for
fifteen minutes, commencing at a quarter to eleven, on Shrove-
Tuesday, still prevails. Shrove-ti&e implies the time when it was
imperative on every one to confess to his parish priest, and by him
to be shriven. To call the parishioners to this their annual duty,
one of the church bells was rung on the morning of Shrove- Tuesday
in a manner that would especially attract attention. After shriving
had gone out of fashion the ringing of the bell was continued, but
the name was changed to that of " pancake bell," and is supposed
to indicate the best time for commencing the preparation of these
dainties. Chesterfield is one of the very few towns where the ring-
ing of the pancake bell still prevails.

We will conclude this notice of All Saints', Chesterfield, with
briefly narrating two incidents immediately connected with this
venerable edifice. In the reign of Henry III., Robert de Ferrers,
Earl of Derby, not satisfied with the defeat of the confederated
barons at Evesham in 1265, again took up arms against the king
in the spring of the following year. He assembled his followers
at his castle of Duffield, and was speedily joined by Baldwin de
Wake (lord of Chesterfield). In order to effect a junction with
the men of Yorkshire under John D'Ayville, they marched towards
Chesterfield, where a sanguinary battle took place. The Earl of
Derby was driven into the town of Chesterfield, which was speedily
beset by the troops of Prince Henry, who threatened to destroy
the place unless the Earl was given up. The Earl meanwhile, who
was suffering from an attack of gout, had fled to the church, and
there concealed himself amongst some bags of wool, which had
been deposited there by the traders at the Whitsuntide fair. A
woman treacherously betrayed him, and he was seized and con-
veyed in irons to Windsor. The total confiscation of the Ferrers
estates was shortly afterwards decreed by the Parliament, and the
castle at Duffield rased to the ground, his life only being spared.*

* There is a good account of this battle in Glover's Derbyshire, vol. i, p. 393. It is
the same engagement referred to in Wyrley's introductory account of the town of
Chesterfield already quoted.

172 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

To the student of mediaeval times there is nothing strange in this
presence of wool in the church, for not only were the naves of our
parish churches frequently used for the storage of goods, especially
in troublous times, but here also were held the manorial courts,
and frequently the actual fairs and markets, as well as the revels
connected with the wakes.*

The second incident occurred more than three centuries later,
and is of singular interest as affording an instance of a post-
reformation interdict. The following entry occurs in the parish
registers: — "1598. Eobertus Eyre generosus sepultus, per violen-
tiam ab Hercule Foljambe, xvdie Dec." The said Eobert Eyre was
an excommunicate recusant, and upon his burial at Chesterfield the
church was interdicted, or according to another account, " inhibited
from all burials " up to the 14th of the following January, when
the ban was removed. During this interval the dead were buried
at Whittington and other neighbouring churches. Hercules Fol-
jambe had only returned from the West Indies two months
previous to his onslaught upon Eobert Eyre, which indirectly
brought about the interdict. He was the son of Sir Godfrey Fol-
jambe, and heir of his brother Godfrey Foljambe, of Moor Hall, who
died in 1591. The foreign achievements of Hercules Foljambe are
best summed up in his own words in a petition to King James,
wherein he affirms : — " That for 40 years he had been employed
in the Netherlands in field and at sea, and in the West Indies in
the time of George, Earl of Cumberland, at the surprising at Port
Eico, where he was Serjeant-Major General of the army, and, by
the providence of God, preserved the Earl from drowning, and had
gracious promises from her Majesty of reward and preferment, hav-
ing consumed above 10,000^. in these employments ; but the Queen

* In connection with the former use of churches for secular purposes, it may not
be out of place to quote a paragraph from a review of ours on Mr. Longman's Three
Cathedrals of St. Paul, which appeared in the Examiner of December 27th, 1873,
as it refers to a subject on which there is such a strange lack of sound information,
even among professed antiquaries :—" Ever since the Reformation, Englishmen
have treated their churches with infinitely more of reverence (occasionally, perhaps,
mingled with a contemptuous indifference) than was the case with their Catholic
forefathers. The devotion of churches to secular uses in the Middle Ages was not
only not regarded as reprehensible, but there is no reasonable doubt that the main
object and intention of building the large naves to our churches was for the very
purpose of utilizing them as town halls, courts of assize, market houses, granaries
and storehouses in troublesome times, and even as suitable buildings for the holding
of fairs and revels. Spiritual tribunals, justices' sessions, and manorial courts were
all held in the naves of the churches ; and the bodies of our majestic cathedrals were
used without exception, at certain seasons of the year, for the accommodation of
huxters' stalls, stages for morris-dancers, and the performance of miracle plays, and
served as pleasant places for a morning gossip or a mid-day promenade. There was
nothing exceptional about the use to which old St. Paul's was put, and it was not
till after the much-abused Reformation that the incongruity of things secular and
spiritual under the same roof began to strike men's minds."

CHESTERFIELD. 173

presently after died, whereby he was prevented of her Majesty's
gracious promises, to his utter disabling and impoverishing his whole
estate, and he being exceeding aged petitions for 100 oaks out of
Bell and Birksland, in the Forest of Sherwood."*

The Parliamentary Commissioners who sat at Chesterfield on the
14th June, 1650, reported that the vicarage of Chesterfield was
worth £24, but that a further sum of £40 was payable out of the
irnpropriation of the tithes of Attenborough, Notts., from the gift
of Mr. Godfrey Foljarnbef to a licensed preacher who should deliver
at least four sermons hi every month in the parish church. At
that date the lectureship and the vicarage were not held by the
same person. One Thomas Brettland, " an honest able man," was
lecturer, and the vicar had lately deceased.

Within the ancient borough of Chesterfield, and hi its immediate
precincts, were several chapels and religious buildings, independent
of the parish Church of AH Saints, but they have ah1 disappeared.

Prominent amongst these was the Hospital of St. Leonard's,
primarily devoted to the care of the lepers of the district. | We are
unable to write with certainty as to its first establishment, but it
was probably founded in the first half of the twelfth century. In
1195, John, then Earl Morton, granted a rent charge of £Q on the
manor of Chesterfield to the hospital, in lieu of the dues from the
fairs and markets in that borough, with which it had been origi-
nally endowed. In the first year of his reign as king, John granted
" simple protection " by charter to the lepers of Chesterfield ; in
the seventh year the income from the manor is registered at £G
10s. ; and in the ninth year of his reign (1207), by a charter dated
26th of July, he formally confirms " to God and the Blessed

* Hunter's Collections. Add. MSS. 24, 447, f. 137. Pegge's Collections, vol. v., p. 73.
Nichol's Collectanea, vol. ii., p. 85.

tThe will of Godfrey Foljambe is dated 24th February, 1594. The particulars
relative to his most valuable bequests are given at pages 131-143 of the Report of the
Charity Commissioners on Derbyshire, in 1827, vol. X.VTLL

J Leprosy formerly abounded throughout Europe, and especially in England, but
has now been driven back to the East, except in the extreme south and a small por-
tion of Norway. It chiefly affected the lower orders, owing to their greater lack of
cleanliness. Chaucer speaks of a special costume for the lepers, and of their carrying
a cup and clapper — the one for the collection of alms, and the other to warn people
of their approach. He further describes a "spittell hous " half a mile from the town
for their accommodation. ( The Testament of Crest

Voltaire, in one of his epigrammatic gibes, says : — " All that we gained in the end,
by engaging in the crusades, was the leprosy ; and of all that we had taken, that was
the only thing that remained with us." But leprosy had spread even as far north as
England before the undertaking of the first crusade. Du Cange's Glossary, v. Fusus.

174 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Leonard, and to the infirm of Chesterfield," the grant that he had
originally made hi 1195.* In 1225 we read that one Gilbert was
chaplain of the infirinai-y at Chesterfield, by which title this hospital
was doubtless signified, t By the arrangement of John in conferring
a rent-charge from the manor, the advowson or patronage of St.
Leonard's Hospital (that is to say, the appointment of chaplain and
other officials) became attached to the manor of Chesterfield, and
various Inquisitions show that it was considered of sufficient im-
portance to be especiaUy enumerated when the manor changed
hands. J In the Taxation Roll of 1291, the Hospital of St. Leonard
is returned at the annual value of £6 13s. 4d., but when the Valor
Ecchsiaslicus was taken in the 27th year of the reign of Henry VIII.
the Commissioners declined to estimate its value, as a trial was then
proceeding " inter Georgium comitem Salopie et Dominum Johan-
num Blithe Coventriensem et Lichfeldeiisem Archidiaconum " with
respect to its emoluments. The Chantry Roll of Edward VI. reign
further explains this matter, by which it appears that, although the
hospital for many centuries had been annexed to the manor, Henry
VII. gave it for life to John Blythe. The Chantry Roll says : —
" There hath been an hospytall called St. Leonard's granted by K.
Hen. VII. to Ser Jo. Blythe Clerk for term of hys lyffe by letters
patent xxv. Aug. in xxiij. yere of hys reygne. By vertue of an acte
of Parlyamente Margaret late countess of Salsburye (who held the
manor of Chesterfield) toke it from Jo. Blythe by the space of xxiij.
yeres paste and dyd graunte the lordship in exchaunge to George
late Erie of Saloppe, so Frauncysse now Erie of Saloppe is in
possessyon of the hospytall." Lysons remarks, " we suppose the
site of this hospital to have been at a place called Spital, near the
Rother, about half-a-mile south-east of the town, which belonged
formerly to the Jenkinsons, and was sold by the co-heiresses of
Woodyear to the late Sir Thomas Windsor Hunloke, Bart. The
house was many years occupied by the family of Bourne, and now
by Mr. John Charge, Attorn ey-at-Law, who married one of the
daughters of the Rev. John Bourne." § There can be no doubt that
this supposition is correct.

In the reign of Edward III., Thomas Wake died seized of the

* Pipe Kolls, 10 Ric. I. ; Rot. Chart. 1 John, M. in dorso 26, and 9 John. M. 8 ; Cal-
end. Rot. Chart. 7 John, M. 8, 86.

t Rot. Lit. Claus. 9 Hen. III., M. 9.

J Inq. post Mort. 26 Edw. III., No. 54 ; 30 Edw. III., No. 2, 25 ; 9 Rich. H., No.
54 ; 10 Hen. IV., No. 51. Abbrev. Rot. Orig. 29 Edw. III., No. 28.
§ Lyaons' Derbyshire, p. 81.

CHESTERFIELD. 175

manor of Chesterfield in conjunction with the Hospital of St. John
the Baptist.* There is no other record of the existence of a
hospital thus dedicated at Chesterfield, and we are inclined to think
that it is an error of the scribe for St. Leonard.

There was a chapel dedicated to St. Helen on the site of the
present Grammar School, of which we have failed to learn anything
in pre-reformation days. It is mentioned in a deed of the 2 Eliza-
beth, by which the Queen grants to George Howard, inter alia,
" half an acre of land near the chapel of St. Helen, in Chester-
field, "t A Free Grammar School, specially endowed by Godfrey
Foljambe, was founded at Chesterfield soon after the Eeformation,
and it seems probable that the Queen granted the fabric of the
chapel of St. Helen's for that purpose. At all events, the chapel
itself, by whomsoever granted, was turned into a school-room, and
other buildings for the masters added. J But in 1710 the old chapel
was finally demolished, and new schools erected.

There was formerly, also, a chapel dedicated to St. Thomas,
which was situate in Holywell Street. Lysons speaks of the remains
of it forming part of a barn and stable, but Ford's History of Chester -
fnl<], published in 1839, says that these remains had recently been
converted into small dwellings, the property of Mr. Margereson,
slater, purchased of the Duke of Devonshire, in 1833. He adds
that "this venerable building has undergone great alterations at
different periods, so that nothing of its primitive state can be traced
except on the south side, where there are still the remains of a
small gothic window."

There was yet a third chapel at Lord's Mill Bridge, but of this
there are no traces whatsoever. Lysons states that it was dedicated
to St. James, but we are not aware of his authority for this state-
ment. " A chapel of the Assumption, by the bridge," was founded
by Eichard, Earl of Salisbury, with a chantry, July 8th, 1446, and
this was probably the chapel in question. §

* Inq. post. Mort. 23 Edw. III., No. 75.

t Add. MSS. 6667, f. 307.

I Lysons' Collections. Add. MSS. 9M8, f. 213.

§ Pat. Rot. 24 Hen. VI., pars 2, M. 10.

176 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

CJapclvg of iSrimtngton,

fjNE of the ancient chapelries of Chesterfield, as has been
already mentioned, was that of the adjacent hamlet of
Brimington, lying about two miles north-east of the
mother church. The manor of Brimington is mentioned in the
Domesday Survey as a berewick of Newbold. It was afterwards
held for several generations by those who possessed the manor of
Chesterfield, but this was not always the case subsequently, when
it passed successively through the families of Breton, Loudham,
and Foljambe. Of the old chapel we have failed to glean any par-
ticulars beyond the bare fact of its existence, and that it was
probably dedicated to St. Michael, which is the dedication of the
present church. Nor are there any remains of the old building.
It was pulled down in 1808, and completely rebuilt at an expense
of £842 13s. lid., with the exception of the tower, which had
been previously rebuilt by Joshua Jebb in 1796. On this tower
there was an inscription — "D.D.D. J. Jebb, 1796."* The mean-
ing of the first three initials is not at once apparent, but we are
inclined to take them for " Domino dono dedit," i.e. " gave this
gift to the Lord." In 1846 application was made for a faculty to
again pull down and rebuild the church, and this was carried out
in the following year. The tower was at that time considerably
raised, and probably then lost the inscription, which is not now
extant.

Brimington is thus described in the Parliamentary Survey of
1650: — "Brimington is a chapel of ease to the parish of Chester-

*Pegge's Collections, vol. 4. Dr. Pegge also makes note of the severe visitation
from, the plague that came upon Brimington in 1603, at which time " Goodacre
bridge was pulled down to prevent communication, and never rebuilt." The victims
were interred at Brimington, but their deaths are recorded in the Chesterfield
registers.

BKIMINGTON. 177

field. This hamlet is devyded into two parts. It is worth in land
5 markes, and to the minister allso the viccarall tythes are worthe
foure pounds tenn shillings per annum. We think fitt that Brim-
ington being butt £ a myle distant should be united to Whytington.
Thomas Bennett is present incumbent, and reputed scandalous."

According to the Liber lietjis this chapel was of the clear value
of £10.

This chapelry was destitute of the rights of sepulture until a com-
paratively modern date. One of the earliest inscriptions in the
church is to the memory of Henry Audsley, vicar of Chesterfield,
who died on the 4th December, 1723.

Glover makes mention of a strange addition to the biirials in
this consecrated ground in 1800, when the body of Thomas Knowles,
who was hung at Derby for forgery on the 5th of September in
that year, was interred in the churchyard.

178 DERBYSHIRE CHURCH l>.

Cljapdrg of Nctofcollr.

p,T the time of the Domesday Survey, Newbold formed part
of the demesne of the Crown. It was a manor of great
extent, and comprised within its limits six bere wicks or
hamlets — Whittington, Brirnington, Tapton, Chesterfield, Boythorpe,
and Eckington. The ancient chapel at Newbold was probably,
therefore, at one time in its history, strange as it may now seem,
the mother church of Chesterfield. In the reign of John, Newbold
ceased to belong to the Crown, being given by that King, together
with many valuable manors, to his favourite, William Briwere.
Briwere's son dying without issue, his vast estates were divided
among his five sisters, Newbold falling to the lot of Isabel, who
took for her second husband Baldwin Wake. Then- descendant,
Hugh Wake, in the reign of Henry III., made over the manor
in its entirety to the Abbot and Convent of Welbeck, who had for-
merly possessed certain rights therein. In the reign of Edward I.
the Abbot of Welbeck obtained the right of free warren over the
manor of Newbold, in addition to those of Duckmanton, North
Winfield, and Gresswell.*

It is said, however, by Lysons, that Newbold, at the time of the
dissolution of the monasteries, was a parcel of the possessions of
Beauchief Abbey. But according to the Valor Ecde.siasticus, 27
Henry VIII., the annual value of the lands held by that abbey in
the lordships of Chesterfield, Brampton, Wadshelf, Wigley, and
Newbold only amounted to £7 10s. 10d., so that it could only
have been a small fraction of the manor that was then in their
hands. After the dissolution Newbold was granted to Sir William
West, whose son Edmund sold it in 1570 to Anthony and Gervase
Eyre.

* Calend. Eot. Chart 19 Edw. I., No. 49. Quo Warranto Rolls, 4 Edw. III.

NEWBOLD. 179

The chapel is a plain building, with an inside area of thirty-
six feet by fifteen. The east and west windows, as well as two
on the south side, are square-headed Perpendicular ones, of two
lights each ; the north wall is unpierced. The main doorway on
the south side is of the same period, and so also is the roof, wliich
is of a simple character, being supported by five tie-beams that rest
on the walls. The centre bosses, however, are well carved and in
good condition. The four angles of the building are ornamented
with pinnacles of a modern and debased design.

The most interesting feature of the chapel is the priest's door-
way on the south side. This is of very small dimensions, being
only five feet three inches high and two feet broad. The top
is formed of a semi-circular tympanum, ornamented with flowing
foliage much defaced. Several of the jamb stones, also, bear traces
of the original sculpture, a kind of horse-shoe moulding. Many,
too, of the stones that now compose the waUs show, both on the
exterior and interior, that they have formerly been used in an early
Norman edifice. We especially noticed one stone, that had clearly
once formed the head of a smaU single-light Norman window. No
long time could have elapsed, from the taking of the Domesday Sur-
vey, before a chapel sprang up on this site. The interior is now
latterly desolate, the windows being not even glazed. Its only
furniture is a modern wooden altar and raised dais at the east end.
The Catholic branch of the family of Eyre still retain possession
of the chapel (though their adjacent estates are in other hands),
and occasionally use it as a burial place.

Owing, we presume, to some unfortunate outbreak of Protestant
malice, the chapel was nearly demolished, and all the monuments
destroyed in the reign of "William III., the ancient tombstones
being used for chimney-pieces, doorways, and other secular pur-
poses.* The only inscription preserved is one of exceptional interest.
It is as follows : — " To the memory of the Honourable Anthony
Browne, eldest son of Francis Viscount Montacute, of Cowdray,
in Sussex, Major in the Volunteer Kegiment at York, who was
wounded in the leg hi a sally from thence, 1644. He married
Bridget Maskew, daughter of James Maskew, of York, Esq., who,
together with his two sons, was killed at Marston Moor, fighting
for their king and country. He left two sons and two daughters

* We gather from Dr. Pegge's collections that he was of opinion that the same mob
which gutted the chapel of Newbold in the reign of William III., committed a like
outrage on another Catholic chapel of the Eyres at their seat at Padley. We shall
revert to this subject in our next volume on the churches of North Derbyshire.

180 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

John, Gervase, Christian, and Martha. He departed this life

May 6, 1666, aged 46 years.

Requiescat in pace.

" 'Tis very well known he'd a great deal of trouble,
He suffer'd with patience, 'cause God made him able,
He liv'd a good Christian and wish'd to get heaven,
And hoped that through Christ his sins would be forgiven."

This inscription was fortunately copied by his daughter, Martha
Browne, a few years previous to the demolition of the monument.
Ford tells us (1839) that the tombstone of Gervase Browne,
second son of Anthony, was to be seen in the chapel not many
years ago. From the same source we learn that Khodes Hibbert
of Newbold, who died at a very advanced age, remembered the
grave of Anthony Browne being opened in the presence of the Kev.
Mr. Morewood, of West Hallam, and others. The leg that had
been broken was found seamed at the fracture.* The personal
history of this gentleman abounds in romantic incidents.

It seems that, notwithstanding his father and two younger bro-
thers were fighting on the Parliamentary side, Anthony was a deter-
mined Boyalist. He was taken prisoner during the sally from York
when his leg was broken ; but, on recovering, he escaped by killing
the guard of his prison. He was now obliged to disguise himself,
and he took refuge with the Eyres of Newbold, living under the
feigned name of John Hudson. On the restoration he resumed his
proper name, but failed to obtain the confiscated estates of his wife,
or any other recompense, from the fickle Charles II. t

After the sacking of this chapel by the Protestant mob, the
building appears to have relapsed into a state of complete dese-
cration, being used as a cowhouse and barn up to a recent date,
when it was cleared of its incumbrances, but not otherwise restored,
by the representatives of the Eyres. The Bev. J. Hunter, who
visited it in July, 1843, says : — "I went to the chapel of Newbold,
and found it standing without any inclosure in a field, and filled
with husbandry utensils.":}:

* Ford's History of Chesterfield, p. 356.

t A most interesting paper on the descendants of Anthony Browne, who on more
than one occasion attempted to make good their claim to the title and estates of
Viscount Montacute, appeared in the Reliquary, April, 1865. Anthony Browne's
widow took a farm, under the Hunlokes, at Lings, in the parish of North Winfield,
and the family resided there until recently. The late Francis Browne, of Lings, was
familiarly known as " Moutacute Browne," and his likeness, as well as that of his
children, to the portrait of the first Viscount was most striking. His letters, too,
some of which we possess, are certainly not characteristic of the ordinary yeoman.
The present representative of the family lives at Staveley. There can be little or no
doubt that the attempts made to secure the title and estates would have been suc-
cessful if it had not been for lack of funds and bad management. We are led to
suppose that the title could even now be recovered, but not the estates.

| Add. MSS. 24, 447, f. 80.

NEWBOLD. 181

There are a few references to this chapel in the registers of the
parish church of Chesterfield. One of these is the instance of the
burial of one of the same name, though apparently not of the same
family, as Anthony Browne : — " September, 1678. Michael Browne
de Newbold, sepult. apud Newbold capell. xvijdie."

We have been told that this chapel was dedicated to St.
John, but have not found any authority for the statement, and our
informant may probably have been misled by the dedication of
the modern church of Newbold.

182 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Cljapdrg of Etmpl*

|HE Manor of Temple Normanton belonged to the Knights
Templars, who gave to it its distinguishing affix. This
Order of Knights was originally established in Palestine,
and had allotted to them by the King of Jerusalem, as a residence,
a portion of his royal palace, adjacent to the site of the Temple of
Solomon ; hence they soon became known as Knights of the Temple,
and subsequently Knights Templars. The date of their foundation
is about 1118, and we read of them in England as early as 1135.
In England they quickly gained landed possessions, a large propor-
tion of which still bear the name that identifies them with this
ancient order. Such are Cressing Temple and Temple Eoydon in
Essex, Temple Chelsing and Temple Dinsley in Herts, Temple
Newsham in Yorks, Templecombe in Somerset, Templeton in Devon,
&c., <fec. An Inquisition of the lands of the Templars, taken in
1185 (the year of the construction of the Temple Church), by
order of Geoffrey, makes mention of Normanton as part "de Baillia
de Lincolnscire."* In consequence, however, of various enormities
this wealthy order was dissolved by order of the council of Vienne,
and its possessions were, by the command of the Pope, made over to
the rival Knights Hospitallers, more commonly known by their
subsequent title of Knights of Malta. This transference of property
was decreed in 1312, but there was much delay in carrying it out,
and many estates fell into secular hands, chiefly into those whose
ancestors had formerly bequeathed them to the Templars. t

There is a report still extant in the Kecord Office at Malta,
which gives a most careful and detailed account of the whole of
the possessions of the Knights Hospitallers in England in the year

*Dugdale's Monaaticon, vol. vi., pt. 2, p. 827.

t Porter's History of the Knights of Malta, vol. i., chap. 7.

TEMPLE NORM AN TON. 183

1838.* Amongst their original estates are two in Derbyshire —
Yeaveley and Barrow — which produced the yearly income of £95 6s.
and £36 2s. respectively. There is also a long list of the recently
transferred estates of the defunct order of the Temple, but we fail
to find mention of Temple Normanton, or indeed of any land in
Derbyshire. But at the end of this list, twelve manors and a
water-mill are enumerated, which had been in the possession of
the Templars, but of which the Hospitallers had failed to obtain
possession up to that date. Amongst these is the Manor of " Nor-
manton in the Vale," of the value of £10, held by Lord de Eoos.t
Now it would seem probable that this is another name for Temple
Normanton. Though Temple Normanton is, and has been for a
long period, its most commonly accepted name, the hamlet has
often been distinguished from the two other places of the same
designation in Derbyshire by other prefixes. Thus we have met
with it under the titles of Little-Normanton, Nonnanton-Parva, and
North-Xormanton, and we believe we recognise it under the further
title of Nornianton-in-the-Vale. A close consultation of gazetteers of
different dates fails to discover a Normanton of this particular
name elsewhere in the country ; and though it may be said that
the hamlet is not on low ground but rather overlooking the vale,
the same objection might be made to Sutton-in-the-Dale and other
place-names of a like description, which simply seem to imply
proximity to a vale or dale. If this conjecture is the right one,
Norniantou-in-the-Vale must have been given up by Lord de
Eoos subsequently, as it afterwards was undoubtedly the property
of the Knights Hospitallers. It is described in the reign of
Edward as " Norman ton-juxta-Chesterfield," lately the property of
the Templars but then of the Hospitallers.:}: It seems that the
manor remained in their hands until the tune of Henry VIII.,
when the order of the Knights Hospitallers sided with the Pope
and resisted the divorcement of Katharine. This resulted in a san-
guinary persecution, and the eventual destruction of the Order ; and
at last in April, 1540, an Act was enacted vesting in the Crown the
whole of their possessions, castles, manors, churches, and houses.
But by a royal charter, bearing date 2nd April, 1557, Philip and
Mary re-established the Order, and re-endowed it with all the

* This report has been printed by the Camden Society, and forms the 65th volume
of their series.

fThe family of de Eoos held various estates in Derbyshire in the reigns of
Edward I., II. ~ arid HL, and Richard II. See Inq. post Mort. pastim.

J Quo Warranto Rolls, 4 Edward III.

184 DERBYSHIRE CHURCH l.S.

manors and other possessions of which it had been deprived, so
that Temple Norrnanton once more reverted to the Knights Hos-
pitallers.* This re-endowment was, however, of short duration, for
Queen Elizabeth, in 1559, again abolished the Order and escheated
their property. In 1568 the manor was granted to George, Earl
of Shrewsbury, and was subsequently purchased of the Shrewsbury
family by the Leakes.

The chapel at Temple-Normanton is a plain oblong building with
a clumsy bell-turret of wood and lead on the west gable. Its
dimensions are about forty feet by twenty. It is entered by a
square-topped doorway on the south side, on the lintel-stone of
which is cut the date 1623. The two windows on the south side,
and the two-light one at the east end are also square-headed, and
may be attributed to the same date. Modern Directories speak of
this chapel as being built in 1623, and doubtless it was extensively
rebuilt then, but one had existed here several centuries before that
date. In fact it would be strange if this was not the case, seeing
that the manor was owned (and probably occupied, not farmed out)
by a body of stern religious zealots, such as the Templars were in
the early part of their history. If the place was of sufficient im-
portance to be christened by their name, it would surely possess a
building for their religious services. In the north wall there still
remains a deeply splayed very small window with a rounded top,
the light itself being only about one foot by three inches, and in
this may be recognised one of the rude Norman windows that are
found in chapels of early primitive construction. The top-stone
of this window, viewed from the exterior, can be exactly matched
by one built into the wall in the old chapel at Newbold. In this
window, then, we see a portion of the old building as it was when
the Knights Templars held here their service in the twelfth century ;
and in the pointed window of two chief lights at the west end, we
find one of the Decorated, or fourteenth century style. And what
is more likely, than that the Hospitallers, when they obtained pos-
session of this chapel, formerly in the hands of their rivals, should
restore it in the style then in vogue. The gable stone at the east
end shows the base of a cross that has formerly adorned it, and
there are traces of a similar feature at the west end. The upper
half of the high-pitched roof is hidden by a plaster ceiling, but
five horizontal tie-beams of a plain description show below. Many
of the pews contain a substratum of solid old oak, and the chapel

* Porter's Knights of Malta, vol. ii., appendix IS.

TEMPLE NORMANTON. 185

has evidently once been seated throughout (probably in 1623) with
massive but plain oak benches. To the backs and sides of these
benches the woodwork of the present higher pews has been ruth-
lessly fastened. The chancel is separated from the body of the
building by a wooden screen of plainly-moulded uprights, certainly
not older than the date over the door. In the south wall of the
chancel is a square niche, w7hich may have once served as an
almery. There appears to have been intra-mural but not extra-
mural burial in this chapelry, for the chancel is paved with numerous
monumental stones ; but we shall not here record the inscriptions,
as the oldest only date back to the commencement of the last cen-
tury. The font is a modern one. Of this chapel it may truly be
remarked that " the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow
a nest for herself where she may lay her young," for the west
wall has recently given way many inches from the building itself,
and left a gaping crevice. This crevice the birds have utilized,
and the chapel at the time of our visit was melodious with the
twitterings of the young. Alterations or repairs are, however,
already in contemplation ; we trust that they will not involve the
complete demolition of the present building.

Lysons says that the chapel at this place is supposed to have
been originally a domestic one, belonging to the lords of the manor
of Tupton, in the adjoining parish of North Wiiifield ; but as he
gives no reasons for this supposition, it is not easy to accord with
it. It would be very unusual to have a domestic chapel at a
distance from the manor house considerably exceeding a mile.
It has already been pointed out that the probable origin of a
chapel on this site was the granting of the land to the Knights
Templars ; and we are in possession of the copy of an old memo-
randum, not before published, which gives negative evidence
against this being used as the domestic chapel of Tupton
Manor. This evidence is very slight, but the memorandum, taken
from the Common Place book of Koger Columbell, of Darley Hall,
who died in 1665, is sufficiently curious to warrant its insertion : —
" Mem. Godfrey Foljambe of More hall, myself, my brother blunt
were at Tupton in the lady Constance Foljambe house the 28 Sep.
1589, when all the morning prayers, savinge the ii lessons omitted
for want of a byble and the collect for the daye for want of skyll
to find it out, was distinctely redd with the latinie also by Nicholas
Hardinge ; hir man servant and Elianor Harrington hir waytinge
woman beinge present, who reverently and obediently behaved them-

186 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

selves during all the service tyme, as we aforenamed with Edward
Bradshawe, John Browne, and John Hawson are to witness when-
soever we shall be called by other or otherwise as by a byll under
our hand according if (?) my sade cousen Foljanibe of More Hall
appeareth."* This reading of prayers according to established
form before witnesses would be done in order to save the heavy
penalties with which the recusant Catholics or suspected recusants
were visited. The Lady Constance Foljanibe would be especially
careful at that particular date to have witnesses of her conformity
to the established religion, as she had only been set at liberty six
days before the date of this memorandum, from a confinement for
conscience's sake, of about two years duration. A letter is
still extant from Francis Leake to the Earl of Shrewsbury, dated
February the 2nd, 1587, in which he states — " I was this day at
Tupton, where I found the Lady Constance Foljainb. I did impart
to the Lady Foljamb my comitione to comite her to the chardge of
my cousen Foljamb. Her answer was that she was, by age and the
sikeness of the stone, not abell to travell either on horseback or on
foot, and so desired me to let your Lordshipp understand ; where-
upon she as yet rerneanthe at Tupton till your Lordshippe's plea-
sure be further knowne." The Earl replies that it is essential
to commit her, and, on February 16th of the same year, receives
a letter from Godfrey Foljambe stating that he had apprehended
" the Lady Constance Foljambe, my grandmother, and now have
her in my custodie, whom by God's help I shall safely keep." The
Protestant zeal of this unnatural grandson was not altogether dis-
interested, for we learn that when he set her at liberty twenty
months later, by order of the Council, he retained for his own bene-
fit "her living, goods, and chattels." On September 22nd, 1589,
the Lady Constance wrote to the Earl of Shrewsbury thanking him
for her release, t She was the second wife of Sir James Fuljambe,
who died in 1558, and was buried at Chesterfield 22nd July, 1600.
Her grandson Godfrey Fuljambe was descended from the first wife,
Alicia. Godfrey Fuljambe, of Moor Hall, was descended from a
younger branch. The Lady Constance's residence we believe to
have been at Tupton Hall (though shortly afterwards it was in the

•Add. MSS. 6702, f. 79.

fThe Talbot Papers, quoted in Lodge's Illustrations of British Histori/, vol. ii.,
pp. 373-375. We have not seen the Talbot Papers, which are preserved at the Col-
lege of Arms, but we feel sure that Lodge is in error in describing this Godfrey
Foljambe as " Sir." It does not appear that he was knighted, and in contemporary
copies of the correspondence between him and the Earl of Shrewsbury, amongst the
Lambeth Palace MSS., he is spoken of as a simple esquire. See also Nichols'
Collectanea, vol. ii., pp. 73-78.

TEMPLE NOKMANTON. 187

hands of the Brailsfords), and if the chapel at Temple Normanton
was the domestic one for the manor, it seems probable that this
historical service would have been there performed.*

In Bacon's Liber Regis this chapelry, valued at £7 12s., is de-
scribed as pertaining to the parish of Eckington ; but this must
be a mistake, as it appears to have always formed part of the very
extensive parish of Chesterfield. In the sixth volume of the Par-
liamentary survey of livings, made in 1650, which records are pre-
served at Lambeth, occurs the following : — " Normanton parva is
a chapel of ease in the parish of Chesterfield, in viccarall tythes
worth 20s. per annum. The Chapel is fit to be disused and the
village united to Chesterfield."

* We have allowed this to stand in the text, as an excuse for bringing in the inte-
resting details illustrative of Derbyshire life in the reign of Elizabeth ; but, since it
was originally in print, we have discovered, in the manuscript correspondence of Lysons
(Add. MSS. 9423, f. 107), the error upon which the statement is based, that this chapel
was the domestic one of the lords of the manor of Tupton. The Rev. G. Bossley,
vicar of Chesterfield, writes to Mr. Lysons, under date 24 February, 1816 — " formerly
the chapel of Temple Normanton was not endowed, and was then considered as an
ancient domestic chapel belonging to the family of Lord of Tupton." Lysons, in
utilizing this letter in his History of Derbyshire, has evidently mistaken the family
name Lord, for lord of the manor ! This is a curious instance of the origin of his-
torical blunders.

188 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

of

|HERE was an old chapel on the manor of Walton, of which
Lysons, writing in 1817, Bays that the waUs were stand-
ing a few years ago. We find, from the Lysons cor-
respondence, that the actual words of his informant, the vicar of
Chesterfield, were — " Some parts of the walls were standing till
within the last three or four years, when they were entirely taken
away, so that no vestiges whatever are now to be found. ":J The
date of this letter is 24th February, 1816.

The manor of Walton was for several generations in the hands
of the ancient family of Breton. Eoger le Brito, or le Breton,
lord of Walton, was a witness to the foundation charter of Lentou
Monastery, to which he gave the tithes of his manors of Walton
and Calow, temp. Henry I. His great-grandson, Sir Eoger le
Breton, according to Dr. Pegge, obtained a license for a chantry
in his chapel at Walton, in the reign of Henry III. Walton re-
mained in the family of Breton in direct male descent for five
generations after the Sir Eoger who obtained the chantry, when
Isabel, sole heiress of Breton, conveyed the estate to Sir John
Loudharn, and their daughter in turn to Thomas Foljanibe.t

Doubtless the chapel was a domestic one attached to the manor,
but we can gather that it did not form an actual portion of the
old Hah1 of Walton, for every trace of that building was more
than two centuries ago destroyed. An anonymous memorandum
amongst the Wolley MSS., written about the year 1648, says —
" The ancient seate Walton nere Chesterfield, wherein the great
contynewall housekeeping was mayntayned before in Mr. Foljambe's

* Add. MSS. 9423, f. 107.

t These particulars are from a MS. pedigree of Mr. Cecil G. Savile Foljambe. We
have not succeeded in obtaining any confirmation of Dr. Pegge's statement as to the
chantry, but it is difficult to believe that so careful an antiquary was in error.

WALTON. 189

tyme, is utterly ruyned, plucked downe, aud sould, no materiall,
as ys reported left, nor almost any mencyon made were so greate
liospytality, and that in my tyme used."

But though there is every probability that this chapel was a
domestic one, it nevertheless found a place in the Valor Ecclesias-
ticus of 27 Henry VIII., and was possessed of special endowments
worth £3 8s. Od. per annum, but which were only secured for the
lifetime of the then chaplain, one William Walton. It is described
as a donative, of which Sir Godfrey Foljambe was the lord and
patron.* There is no reference to the chapel in the Parliamentary
Survey of 1650.

* Sir Godfrey Foljambe was himself one of the Commissioners for taking this re-
turn, which may account for its enumeration among the benefices.

Cloton.

(Jloton.

jjN the will of Wulfric Spott, by which Burton Abbey was
endowed, mention is made of the manor of Clown ; it
was not, however, left to that monastery, as stated by
Lysons and subsequent writers, but to Morcare.* The notice of
Clown in the Domesday Book contains no mention of a church,
and the first historical note of its existence seems to be in the
reign of Henry III. (1216—1272), when the church of All Saints
at Clown was confirmed by that monarch to the Priory of Work-
sop, f According to the Liber Regis, and to subsequent authorities,
the church is dedicated to St. John the Baptist. It therefore seems
probable that we have here an instance of a church changing its
dedication at the time of its restoration or re-consecration.

The church of Clown, however, was not altogether appropriated
to the Priory of Worksop, as implied by Glover, but only the
advowson, together with a portion of its revenues. At least this
appears to be indicated by the Taxation Koll of 1291, wherein
Clown is entered as an " ecclesia " (not vicarage) worth £6 13s. 4d.
a year, and the Prior of Worksop as deriving a pension of £2
from the same parish. According, also, to Mitchell's Derbyshire
Collections,! the convent of Worksop received a pension of that
amount from the parson of Clown, of which a recovery was suffer-
ed, 29 Henry VIII., on the very eve of the dissolution of the
monasteries. This pension (according to Mr. Mitchell) arose from
the gift of Robert de Mennill (son of Gilbert de Mennill) and
Eobert his son, of all their rights in the church of All Saints
at Clown, and was confirmed by Edward IL, at Lincoln, on the
4th February, in the ninth year of his reign.

* See Beighton Church, p. 83.

f Glover's History of Derbyshire, vol. ii., p. 303.

; A <1<1. MSS., 28, 108, f. 303.

• »

194 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

In the sixth year of Eichard II., Sir Koger Folville and Eliza-
beth his wife, held forty acres of glebe land at Clown, under the
church,* and two years subsequently (1385) we learn that one
Kichard de Eawcliffe was parson.

The following is a verbatim extract from the Valor Ecclesiasticus
(27 Henry VIII.) with respect to this parish : —

CLOWNE KECTOEIA.
Prior de Wirkesopp Patronus.
Dominus Willielmus Ynskipp rector ibidern liabet communibus aniiis ut sequitur.

£ B. d.

In mansione et glebis xx x

In decimis garbaram et feni -------- iiij vij

In decimis lane et agnellorum -------- xij

In decimis minutis ---------- iij

In oblatiouibus ----------- x

In Paschali Rotulo xviij vij

Summa - - vij xi v

Undo resoluta est annuatim arckidiacono Derbie pro scenagio et

procuragio ---- x vij

De claro - - vij x

Decima inde - xiiij j

The Parliamentary Commissioners, in 1650, estimated the value
of the living of Clown at three score and ten pounds. Mr. John
Burton was then the incumbent, and is described as "an honest,
hopefull man."

The Church consists of a chancel, nave, south porch, and western
tower. Though the present building is much modernised, enough
old work remains to prove its existence in the Norman days. The
south doorway under the porch, and the archway from the nave
into the chancel, are both of good Norman work, and in a fair
state of preservation. Shafts are cut out in the jambs, the capitals
of which are ornamented with geometrical patterns. The style is
of the reign of Stephen (1135 — 1154). On a window-seat in the
chancel is a circular stone, moulded in front, that has formerly
been the drain of the old Norman piscina. It would be well if this
stone could be again built into the walls, to save it from future
Vandals, as piscinas of that date are but very rarely found. At
the west end of the nave, too, is the original Norman font. The
font itself, which is twenty-two inches in diameter, and thirteen in
height, is a perfectly plain rounded stone. The base, which is also
circular, is moulded in bands like the base of a column. Its total
height is about forty inches.

*Inq. post. Mort. 6 Rich. II., No. 40.

CLOWN. 195

One more instance of this style remains iu the chancel, the
priest's doorway on the south side having a semi-circular head,
thoiigh it appears, when viewed only from the exterior, to be of
much more modern date. On each side of this doorway there has
been a small lancet window of the Early English period, though
that nearest the nave has been diminished and blocked up, until
only a small square opening has been left. The roof of the chancel
is ceiled, but the tie-beams and a portion of the struts of the old
roof show themselves below the whitewash. The high-pitch roof of
the nave is open to the rafters ; two of the tie-beams with their
struts, which are boldly carved and moulded, are clearly part of an
old roof, as well as much of the remainder.

The style of carving, and the construction of the roof, inclines
us to attribute it to the Decorated period of the fourteenth century.
It has a strong resemblance to the church roofs at Hault Hucknall
and North Winfield.

The tower at the west end was added in the fifteenth century,
when the Perpendicular style was in vogue. It is supported by
diagonally-placed buttresses, and the embattled summit is ornamen-
ted with four crocketed pinnacles. The windows of the bell-chamber
are good plain specimens of the style. The tower is entered by a
small pointed doorway under the west window, and the basement
opens into the body of the church by a lofty archway spring-
ing from two well-carved corbels. We should have written " ought
to open," for the archway is now bricked up, and further concealed
by a gallery at the west end of the nave. The tower contains
three bells, access to which is obtained by a turret staircase of
unusually small dimensions.

The following are the inscriptions : —

I. "Revd. George Bossley, Eector, 1812. J. Goody, J. Dewis,
Churchwardens. Smiths, Chesterfield."

II. " Geo. Wilkesonne, Will. Williamson, Wardens, 1616." This
bell is cracked, and has been disused for some years.

III. " God save his church. 1591." This bell bears the founder's
mark of Henry Oldfield.

The north wall of the nave has, we suppose, at some time in its
history, shown symptoms of falling outwards, but such a catastrophe
has been now rendered impossible by the erection of two clumsy,
but massive buttresses. They project ten feet from the wall at the
base, and are three feet in width. They graduate off in nine suc-
cessive stages, and seem almost to invite a visit to the roof. On

196 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

mentioning this to our cicerone, he told us that all the lead from
the roof was stolen one night about thirty years ago. It has since
been roofed with slates. One of these buttresses has blocked up a
doorway that formerly existed on the north side of the church.

Three tall two-light windows, of very debased Perpendicular, light
the south side of the church, one bearing on its keystone the date
1714. A stone above them is thus inscribed : — " Mr. Basseldine,
benefactor to this wall and church, 1.51" The porch, which is
about as degenerate a piece of architecture as the liveliest imagina-
tion could picture, informs its admirers that " This porch was
rebuilt by Mr. Basseldine, 1720." Good Mr. Basseldine had not
the smallest intention of placing his light under a bushel, and we
find several traces of him in the interior of the church. Against
the north wall of the nave is a large table of the Commandments,
supported by Moses and Aaron, and with various other embellish-
ments around them. At the base is painted Mr. Basseldine's name
in conspicuous letters, with the date 1724. The artist's name, "B.
Bouttats," is also given. Again, in the chancel, against the north
wall, is a large picture of the Ascension in a black frame. At the
bottom we read, " Charles Basseldine, his gift, 1725." This picture
is certainly a marvellous composition, and is intended, we fancy, for
a copy of one of the weU-known paintings on this subject. We
suppose its almost ludicrous irreverence did not strike its admirers
of the last century. The keys of St. Peter, which he has dropped
in his astonishment, are prominent in the foreground. But Mr.
Basseldine's last and best work, not chronicled till after his death,
is commemorated on a small plain slab on the opposite side of the
chancel, " Here under lyeth ye body of Mr. Charles Basseldine,
benefactor to this church £50, a founder of a school, and gave to
it £6 per annum for ever, to teach twelve of the poorest children
of the parish of Clown. Who died March 23rd, 1736, aged 84."

The church contains no pre-reforrnation memorials, but a large
gritstone slab in the centre of the chancel is to the memory of a
rector of the parish already mentioned — William Inskip — who must
have been installed here some years before the first establishment
of the Keformation by Henry VIII. He held this rectory during
the troublous ecclesiastical times of Henry VIII., Edward VI., Mary,
and Elizabeth. It would be interesting to know how these changes
affected this little out-of-the-way Derbyshire village. We are afraid
Mr. Inskip must have somewhat shared in the opinions of the
vicar of Bray. His tomb is thus inscribed : — " In memory of

CLOWN. 197

William Inskip, parson of Clown 54 years, was buried the 30th
day of November, 1582." Under the communion table is another
slab bearing a lengthy Latin inscription to the memory of a daugh-
ter of George Halley, M.A., a former rector of this parish, who
died 19th August, 1680. The small east window of the chancel
appears to have been re-constructed at about the same time as the
windows on the south of the nave. In the centre light there is a
small female figure in old stained glass of a deep blue, but lacking
the head.* For those interested in more modern ecclesiastical fur-
niture may be noted a semi-circular bracket table, fixed in the south-
east angle of the chancel, which is apparently of Jacobin date, and
has perhaps served as a credence table.

The space above the chancel arch at the east end of the nave is
panelled with oak, and upon this rests a large emblazonry of the
Royal arms. But the wood itself has been painted with heraldic
emblems, now much worn — the rose, thistle, harp, &c. This is, of
course, of post-reformation date, though still of an earlier period
than is now usually found. On the subject of setting up the Eoyal
Arms in churches, Dr. Pegge, the Derbyshire antiquary, says: —
" The king's arms are placed with great propriety in churches, the
kings of England being acknowledged to be the supreme head, in
the temporal sense, of the National Protestant Church ; and yet I
do not know of any express injunction for thus putting them up.
However, they were very generally introduced at the Beformation."t
Against the beams of the western gallery are now fixed several
carved wooden bosses that have been recently removed from the
panelling at the east end of the nave ; but that can hardly have
been their original position, and we should conjecture that they have
at one time formed part of the rood-loft screen. Two of them have
shields in the centre, on one of which are displayed two keys in
sal tire, surmounted by a crown, which were once the arms
of the Bishopric of York ; and on the other the arms of the see
of Lichfield — Per pale, arg. and git., a cross potent quadrate, between
four crosses patee, all counter- charged.

On the south side of the churchyard are two memorials worthy
of note. One of these is a low headstone cross, near the tower,

* When the Rev. J. Hunter visited this church in 1801, he noticed this figure, which
was then headless, and adds that on another pane of glass was the word " fecit."
Add. MSS. 24, 466.

•f Anoni/iniana, p. 293. The earliest instance on record of the setting up of the
Boyal Arms in the place hitherto occupied by the rood, occurred in February, 1547,
at St. Martin's, Ironmonger Lane, London. See Notes and Queries, 4th S. vol. xii.,
pp. 354, 437, and 5th S. vol. i. p. 98.

198 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

roughly carved, and destitute of inscription. It closely resembles
one of the old headstones found at Bakewell, and may at any rate
be ascribed to a pre -reformation date. It was suggested to us that
it may formerly have served as a gable cross, but it is not
nearly sufficiently well cut to have occupied so prominent a position.
The other memorial is a flat, or rather slightly coped gravestone.
It is mutilated at each end, but now measures five feet nine inches
by twenty-three inches at the top, and twenty- one at the bottom.
Its surface is incised with three bands of diamond- shaped figures,
and on it is rudely carved or scratched the year 1650 and certain
initials. But the stone is far older than this. Indeed, on com-
paring it with the work on other slabs, whose approximate date
has been ascertained, we are inclined to place it as early as the
twelfth century.

ftponfiflb.

1

s

I

jDronfiplb.

|HE parish church of Dronfield is dedicated to St. John the
Baptist. There are no less than three hundred and fifty-
nine pre-reformation churches thus dedicated throughout
England, for St. John the Baptist comes fifth on the list of favourite
patron saints, " All Saints " being excepted.

The first mention that we find of this church is in the reign of
the first Edward, when the advowson was given to the neighbour-
ing Abbey of Beauchief by Sir Henry de Brailsford.* Sir Henry de
Brailsford died seized of the manor and church of Brailsford, of
the manor of Wingerworth, of the manor of Unston in the parish
of Dronfield, and of the church of Dronfield. t We can only
conjecture that the appearance of the church of Dronfield, in this
inquisition as part of the property of Henry de Brailsford merely
implies that it had been his property, or rather perhaps, that it
was only bequeathed to the Abbey on his decease. Though the
advowson thus early became the property of Beauchief, the titles
were not appropriated to that monastery until 1399, and the
Vicarage of Dronfield was endowed four years later.J

The Taxation Eoll of 1291 estimates the annual value of Dron-
field church at £40 ; thus making it by far the most valuable
piece of preferment in the deanery of Scarsdale, and only surpassed
by a single other benefice in the whole of the country.

At the time of the taking of the Domesday Survey (1086),
Unston was the most important of the royal manors in this
district, and "a church and a priest" are mentioned in the account
of that manor. There is no record of a church at Dronfield in
those days, and, as we find that almost the whole of the present

*The Chartulary of Beauchief Abbey.

flnq. post. Mort. 25 Edw. I.

J Pegge's History of Bemtchief Abbey.

202 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

church is of the Decorated period, and fail to perceive any traces
of an earlier building, it may be fairly conjectured that the structure
was originally erected by Sir Henry de Brailsford, when the older
church at Unston had fallen into decay.*

The church consists of a nave, side aisles, and chancel, together
with a tower at the west end surmounted by a spire. There is
also a two storied vestry on the north of the chancel. The aisles
are separated from the nave on each side by four arches supported
by plain circular pillars. The windows of both the side aisles are
of the early Decorated period and display various designs. Those
on the north of the north aisle are of singular width, considering
that they only consist of two lights. The whole of these windows
are unfortunately much hidden from view, in the interior, by the
side galleries. Above these windows is a long line of trefoil open-
ings which are glazed. These were added at the time of the
alterations in 1855, when £1000 was spent in repairing and
repewing the church, in order to give more light to the galleries.

The chancel, though of the Decorated period, is later in the
style and has been subsequently added, though at no long interval,
to the body of the church. This is proved by finding the chancel
several feet wider on each side than the archway from the nave.
This is a very unusual arrangement. To obviate the obstruction
of view which would be thus caused, a low pointed opening about
three feet wide has been made on each side of the archway, thus
serving the purpose of squints. In the south wall of the chancel
are three sedilia of equal elevation, they are ornamented with
crocketed finials and are most beautifully executed, though the
sharpness of their outline is much marred by successive layers of
whitewash. About three yards beyond these is a single piscina.
To the north of the east window a bracket for an image may be
noticed. Against the walls are two long benches or pews of old
dark oak, the poppy-head ends being carved in the fleur-de-lis
pattern. The oak of the pulpit is also well carved, but is of post-
reformation design. The side windows are fine specimens of
Decorated tracery, and may be compared with those of the chancel
of Sandiacre Church, but the large east window of seven lights
with its horizontal transoms is of the most debased style of the
Perpendicular. The east window of Eckington Church is of almost

* We do not intend to imply with any degree of certainty that there was no church
on this site till the time of Sir Henry de Brailsford, as the mention of a " Presbyter
de Dronfield " at an earlier period shakes such a theory, but it does seem probable
that there was no church here of any size at a prior date.

BrKni>; 4 5ois.T»c Smile Pisces

DRONFIELD. 203

exactly the same design. The west window under the tower affords,
on the other hand, a good instance of Perpendicular tracing. To
the same period belong the square-headed clerestory windows of
the nave, the embattlements of the tower, and the vestry.

This vestry and sacristy is worthy of note as being one of the
few instances in which an upper chamber is to be found. The
most correct term to be applied to vestries is the old name
Diaconicum, so called, because it was peculiarly committed to the
Deacon of the place, and within it were kept the plate, vessels,
vestments, and all other things belonging to the church which had
been dedicated to holy uses. The upper chamber would probably
be the dwelling place of the deacon or sacristan. This upper room
is gained by a turret staircase, which formerly gave access also to
the roof of the chancel. The turret is crowned with a conical
shaped roof ornamented with crockets. The room contained at
the time of our visit, two wooden chests. The oldest was very
solid, and was fastened by no less than seven iron hasps, but it
proved to be empty. On opening the second one we found it to
contain the five large folio volumes of Poole's Synopsis Criticorum,
of the date of 1674, and the celebrated Apology of Bishop Jewel.
This work was ordered to be placed in every parish church for
general reading, and to guard against theft it was to be chained
to the desk or wall. This copy bears the date of 1569, and the
chain is still attached to its cover.* At the bottom of the chest
containing these volumes were the seven padlocks belonging to the
other chest.

With respect to these chests in the vestry it may not be out of
place to here quote the ninth rule, from the orders, drawn up by
Sir Thomas Fanshawe in 1638, to regulate the free school
founded at Dronfield by Henry Faushawe in 1579.

"Item — I ordain that the covenant and writings, which do or
shall concern the possessions of the said school, together with the
common seal now by me appointed for the corporation of the
governors of the said school, shah1 be from time to time kept in a
chest, which shall remain in the vestry of the parish church of
Dronfield aforesaid, under six locks and keys, one of which keys
the Vicar of Dronfield for the time being shall keep, and each of

* More or less mutilated copies of this work are frequently met with in parish
chests throughout the country, and there is one in fair condition, with the chain
attached, in the parish church of Shirland. The Dronfield copy cannot now find
many readers, as we were told that no one had even climbed the stairs for some ten
years.

204 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

the churchwardens for the time being shall keep one, and one
other key shall be kept by my kinsman Lyonell Fanshawe, Esq.,
until such time as I shall otherwise dispose of the same." *

The effective band of moulding, running round the parapet of
the chancel, is of similar design to that round the parapets of the
towers of both Chesterfield and Crich.

The spire which is 132 feet high, is well proportioned, and
springs gracefully from the tower. It is lighted with two sets of
windows of the Decorated style. This spire was considerably
damaged in a severe storm in December, 1818, as appears from a
presentment made to Quarter Sessions on the 3rd of April, in the
following year, in order to obtain a Brief for its repair. The
presentment says — "On 16th of December last past, the church of
Dronfield was struck by lightning-, which struck down part of the
spire, and very much damaged the remaining part of the spire,
with much of the walls, windows, roofs, and ceilings of the church
itself, together with the chancel, and that, the roofs were previously
in bad repair, it becomes necessary to take down the shattered
remains of the spire, which now must be rebuilt, the leaden roofs
taken off and recast, damaged windows renewed, new ceilings
made," &c., &c.f

From a south-east view of the church, which appeared in the
Gentleman's Magazine about this date, it appears that there were
then three clerestory windows, square headed and destitute of tra-
cery on the south side, which were probably matched by a like
number above the north aisle.J

The church notes of J. Keynolds, taken at Dronfield on 27th of
September, 1770, § are of considerable length and interest, and we
shall extract from them all that bears upon pre- Reformation de-
tails, comparing them, as we proceed, with the notes of Bassano,
taken about sixty years earlier. " The church here is built of stone,

and the roof covered with lead The chancel is built higher

than the church, and almost as large, and is the prettiest piece of

Gothic architecture of its kind that I know of in the county

In a small arch betwixt the church and the chancel, on the right
hand the passage between them (being not far from the S.E. cor-

*Add. MSS. 6670, fol. 354,

t The original of this Brief is at the British Museum. The estimate therein given
for the repairs of Dronfield church amounts to £256 5s.

J Gentleman's Magazine, April, 1819, p. 305.
§ Add. MSS. 6701, ff. 29 to 42.

DRONFIELD. 205

ner of the church), within a seat or pew is, seemingly, a very
ancient tomb of alabaster, raised pretty high above the floor,
having the effigy (or figure) of a man in armour, lying on the top
thereof, with a dagger by his side (but no helmet on his head) rest-
ing his feet against a dog couchant. His hands conjoined over his
breast and elevated in a praying posture, and two angels carved
upon the south side and one upon the west end (all the rest of
the said tomb adjoining the walls or arch) with escutcheons before
them, but no charges at all embossed on any of them, neither is
there any inscription (nor the vestiges of any) to be found any-
where about this tomb. But as the said tomb has evidently been
cut less to fit the said small arch it now stands in, very likely the
inscription was wrote round the margin of the lid of the stone and
is now on that account cut off." Bassano tells us that this is the
tomb of Sir Kichard Barley, Knt. There was no inscription in his
days, but he adds, " Mr. Kichard Hall did verefie to me that he
had read a portion of ye inscription on it, viz., ' Sir Kichard Bar-
ley, Knt., of Dronfield Woodhouse, and was now repaired by James
Barley, of Barley, Esq., in ye yeare 1593.' "

Reynolds continues : — " Near the middle of the chancel floor is a
stone with 8 plates upon it. That plate next the S.W. corner
having on a wreath a gryphon's head erased upon it, Fanshawe's
crest. That on the N.W. corner, on a wreath on an armed leg,
embowed at the knee and spurred, being the crest of Eyre. That
plate betwixt the above 2 plates, contains 2 coats impaled — 1st a
chevron between 3 fleur-de-lys, Fanshawe ; 2nd, on a chevron 8
quatrefoils, Eyre. The 2 next plates contain — one the portrait of
a man, and the other (which is the more northerly one) that of a
woman ; upon the man's portrait is written, in antique characters,
' Obiit xxij. Februarie, 1578.' Upon the woman's, 'Obiit xv. Junii,
1573.' And underneath it is read this inscription in eodem cha-
ractere —

'" Hie jacent Johanes Fanshawe, de Fanshawe-gate, et Margareta
uxor ejus, filia .... Eyer, qui obierunt circa aetates suas septua-
ginta et quatuor annorum, et habuerunt filias et filios viz, Eliza-
betham et Thomam gemellos. Ehzabetha obiit circa aetatem suam
quatuor annorum, Thomas est Kernemerator Elizabeth® Regine de
scacario suo, Margaretam uxorem Rici Castle, rex Henricus qui obiit
natus circa aunos quinque, Robertum viventem apud Fanshawe
Gate, et Godfridum unum clicor' (clericorum) predicto scacario ;
sculpta vicesimo die Junii anno domini milessimo quingentessimo

206 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

octogessimo.' That plate next the S.E. corner contains the por-
traits of 3 grown persons and a child ; upon the child is written,
in eodein charactere, ' Obiit xii. Maij. 1545.' That next the N.E.
corner contains the portrait of a woman and child standing before
her ; upon the child is written, ' Obiit xiij. Febrii 1537.'

" On a large blue stone near the middle of the chancel, are the
portraits of 2 men (drawn upon brass plates) in long vestments
ad tales demissa, and underneath their feet the following inscription,
both written upon the same plate, but stopping in the middle thereof,
the more southern inscription being — ' Hie jacet Thomas Gomfrey
de Wormehul quondam rector eccle' de Drounfeld q' obiit xi die
Mensis Octob. anno dni MCCCLXXXX nono, et sub ipso jacet
dominus Rogerus Braylisforde dudum Eector dicte ecclesias de
Drounefeld.' The inscription more northerly is thus — ' Hie jacet
dns Eicus Gornfrey quondam Eector eccle' de Badenhull et p'ben-
dam de Somerchal in capella regis de Penkeriche, et frat' dci

Thome qui obiit .... Anno dni Millimo CCC Quorum

aniinarum ppicietur deus. amen ' ' (The word rendered by Mr.
Eeynolds Badenhull, ought to read Tatenhull.} " Between the two
portraits before mentioned there has been a hunter's horn, stringed,
inlaid in the stone, but the brass is now torn away ....
" In the church windows are no arms, but in the chancel are the
several coats following —

" In the westernmost window on the south side, now only two
coats, but on 10th June, 1756, there were three, namely

" 1. Grey de Codnore.

" 2. Lord Deyncourt.*

" 3. De Alfreton, afterwards Chaworth.

" In the middlemost south window are no arms, but a painting
something like a fidler.

" In the large east window, and first on the higher or upper part
of the same, five coats, to wit —

" 1. Or, a two-necked eagle displayed, sable. German Empire.

" 2. Paley of 6 pieces, or and gules. Eayniond Bereugarius, Earl
of Provence.

" 3. Gules, an orle, or, over all an escarbuncle of 8 staves, noue
et fl curette of the second.

" 4. Azure, semi de fleurs-de-lys, or France, antient.

* The Deincourts held the manor of Holmersfield from the time of the Domesday
Survey up to the reign of Henry VI, as well as certain lauds in the manor proper of
Droufield.

DEONFIELD. 207

"5. Gules, 3 lions passant gardant in pale, or England.

"In the lower part, formerly four coats, now only three, namely,

" 1. Cheque, or and azure. Warren, Earl of Surrey.

" 2. Gules, 3 lions passant gardant in pale, or in chief label of
3 points of France. Henry of Lancaster, son to Henry Earl of
Lancaster, whose father was Edmund, surnamed Crouchback, son
to K. Henry 8d.

"3. Is demolished.

"4. Or 3 chevronels, gules, de Clare."

Bassano's report of these windows does not differ much from that
of Eeynolds. He contents himself with describing the coat, fol-
lowing that attributed by Reynolds to Raymond Berengarius, as —
" Gules, a Catherine wheel, or"* and gives two additional coats in
the lower part of the east window — " A z., a bend arg., cottized or,
between 6 Lyoncells or," and, " Or, a lyon rampant, azure. "t He
further makes mention of a coat in one of the north windows, " Or.
upon 2 barrs gules, 8 water bougets arg" (Willoughby), and in
the middle part of the east window, " Christ on the cross, three
apostles on one side, three on another."

There was also a fair amount of glass left in the nave in his
days, which, having escaped the misdirected zeal of the Puritans,
feU a victim to the more destructive effects of slothful indifference.
In the east window of the south aisle were —

" 1. Or a Lyon Rampant, gules. %

" 2. Gules 3 Lyons gardant or, a label of 5 poynts Lozenge and
de Us. (Henry of Lancaster).

" 3. Arms of England.

" 4. A Lyon Rampant double queve arg.§

" 5. Az., a bend duble cottized arg., between 6 Lyoncelle or.

" Above in middle partition is ye image of Christ on the cross.
In partitions of each side are — James, John, Mary, and Mary Mag-

* This coat is probably intended for Navarre. Cotton MSS. Tiberius, D. 10.

fThe former of these coats is that of Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford,
Essex, and Northampton ; it appears on the tomb, in Westminster Abbey, of Eleanor
Bohuii, Duchess of Gloucester, who died in 1399. The latter coat was borne by
several families, but here it is doubtless for Percy. John de Orreby was lord of the
manor and patron of the church of Droiifield in the year 1355. He married Joan de
Percy. Add. MSS. 6670, f. 354, Inq. post Mort. 5. Eic. II, No. 47. He had probably
purchased the presentation from Beauchief Abbey. Ralph Percy held the manor of
Droiifield in the reign of Henry IV. Inq. post Mort. 1 Henry IV, No. 6.

{ This coat might belong to a large number of families. Perhaps it here signifies
Charleton, a quartering of the Talbots. Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, once held the
manor of Totley in this parish. Or it may be for Walter Blount, who possessed such
large estates all round Dronfield in the reign of Edward IV.

§ As., a lion rampant double-tailed arg. was borne by Cromwell (Harl. MSS. 6137),
and the manor of Dronfield was held by the Cromwells in the fifteenth century.

208 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

dalene." In a south window of this aisle was — " Erm., on a chief
gules a label of 5 poynts," being the arms of Bullock, who possessed
considerable property at Norton in the sixteenth century, and also
at Unston in this parish.

Bassano also noted an arch or canopy in the south wall, where
formerly, according to tradition, stood an image of the Virgin Mary,
and he mentions a well, close to the churchyard in St. John's lane,
called St. John's Well, from which "they usually fetch water now
for baptizing infants." In the vestry was " ye organ case of former
organ."

It might be urged with respect to the lamentable disappearance
of the painted glass from this church, that it was probably destroyed
by the lightning in 1818, but this excuse cannot be pleaded for the
churchwardens of those days, for when Lysons visited this church
on the 7th of September, 1808, the only coloured glass it possessed
were four coats of arms in the east window of the chancel — Dein-
court, Grey, Germany, and another.*

The figure " something like a fidler," mentioned by Mr. Reynolds
as being hi a south window of the chancel, obtains special mention
in the Gentleman's Magazine for 1757,t where an engraving of it is
given, and an argument based upon it as to the age of violins and
their use in this country. The writer observes — " this uncouth
thing at Dronfield can be called no more than the rudiment of a
violin. There is no neck, but it rests partly upon the performer's
breast and partly upon his knee, and moreover was steadied, as I
conceive, by a hand through a strap at the back. As there is no
finger board it could not be stopped, and with four strings could
only produce four notes, which yet, I suppose, were sufficient at
that time of day for expressing a chant or a psalm tune." The
writer further considers that this figure, though not in its original
place, had always belonged to the chancel and was of the same age
with it. From the engraving given of this figure it must have very
closely coincided, both in size and style, with the quaint figure of
a musician with a hurdy-gurdy in the south aisle at Staveley.

There now remains in the east window of the chancel a confused
medley of fragments of coloured glass, apparently brought there from
all parts of the church, and inserted hi a haphazard fashion. A
few fragments of some of the escutcheons mentioned above can
be identified, and the lower portion of the unclothed legs of a

•Lysons' Church Notes. Add. MSS. 9403.
t Gentleman's Magazine, vol. xxvii., p. 560.

DRONFIKIJ'. 209

man — perhaps a portion of the figure of the patron Saint, St. John
the Baptist.

We will now make a note or two explanatory of the ancient monu-
ments described in detail by Reynolds, and of their present condition.
The tomb of Sir Richard Barley still occupies the awkward position
in which Reynolds noted it. The date of the monument, judging
from the details and workmanship, is of the first half of the fifteenth
century. Sir Richard Barley was the sou of Sir George Barley, by
the daughter of Clement Curzon, of Croxton ; he married a daughter
of Sir J. Sacheverell, of Hopton.* James Barley, who repaired the
tomb in 1593, was a direct descendant, six generations intervening.
He married Joan, daughter of Nicholas Strelley, of Beauchief, and
was living when the Visitation of 1611 was made.+ His only children
were Francisca and Rosamond, then aged respectively nineteen and
sixteen. They subsequently married Liuney and Bullock. He sold
the family estates at Barlow in 1593, to George, Earl of Shrewsbury.

The Fanshawe brasses are in much the same condition now as
when described by Reynolds. It is supposed that the Fanshawes, of
Fanshawe Gate, had been settled there for several generations, but
the Herald's Visitations take us no further back than to the father of
John Fanshawe, commemorated by the brass, and even his Christian
name is not supplied.^ Nor does the pedigree supply the blank on
the brass as to the father-in-law of John Faushawe, but we have
• lined, after considerable trouble, that Margaret was the daughter
of Rowland Eyre, of Hassop. Henry Fanshawe, of London, younger
brother to John, of Fanshawe Gate, held the office of Remembrancer
of the Exchequer, and when he died in 1568, was succeeded in that
office by his nephew Thomas, as is stated on the inscription quoted
above. Thomas Fanshawe died at his house in Warwick Lane, Lon-
don, on 19th February, 1600, and was buried in the south aisle of the
parish church of Ware, Hertford. Robert, the second son, who re-
mained at Fanshawe Gate, married, firstly, Diana Eyre, of Bradway,
and secondly, the daughter of Edward Barber, of Rowsley. Godfrey,
who was one of the Clerks of the Exchequer when the monument
was engraved, " bought, and lived at, the Hospitall of IUford."§ The
parish registers abound with entries relative to the Fanshawes, from
1561 to 1734. From that source we find that Richard Castle was

* Pegge's Collections, vol. vi. p. 290.

t Harl. MSS. 1093 ; and 6592, f. 23.

I The Visitation of London (c. 2-1), 1G23-4; Harl. MSS. 6592, f. G5.

§ These particulars are taken from Note* >-al and Historical of- 'the

Fanshawe Family. Privately printed, 1808-9.

P

210 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

married to Margaret Fanshawe, 011 24 July, 1564, and that Edward,
son of John Fanshawe, but not mentioned on the brass, was baptized
19th April, 1575, and died in the same year.

On the brass to the Gornfreys, the two priests are represented in
copes, and not in eucharistic vestments, as was more usual.
The borders of the copes are ornamented with quatrefoils. This brass
is said to be the only instance extant of two brothers commemorated
on the same plate. Eoger de Braylesford was Eector of Dronfield
from 1280 to 1312, and died 011 the 20th of April, 1336. He was
succeeded by Eoger Brancequill, of Bakewell, who resigned in 1365,
and was followed by Thomas Gomfrey, who was admitted to the
Rectory in 1365.* The probable reason for the presence of a bugle
horn on this monument, which seems somewhat incongruous on the
tomb of ecclesiastics, is, that it signified that lands were held by the
deceased by cornage tenure, or horne-yehl, the service of which tenure
was to blow a horn on the approach of the enemy. This old service
of horn-blowing was not uncommon in the northern counties, and was
afterwards commuted and paid in money under the title of Cornaijium.^
That the family of Gornfreys were landholders in the neighbourhood
is proved from the fact that one Gomfrey held a messuage of fifteen
acres at Worm hill, in 1304.J An inquisition that was taken during
the rectorship of Thomas Gomfrey, relates to the endowment of a
chantry within this church. Thomas Gomfrey, Ealph Barker,
William Cook, and Thomas Eycher give to the altar of St. Mary, in the
Church of St. John the Baptist, of Dronfield, seven messuages, two
hundred and forty acres of land, and rents to the amount of 42s. 2d.,
within the manors of " Dronfield, Stubley, Wodhous, and Colley."§

John Ascherby succeeded Thomas Gomfrey, and was the last
Eector of Dronfield; for in the same year of his appointment, 1399,
he resigned the rectory to the Canons of Beauchief, to which Abbey
the tithes were for the future appropriated. The Vicarage of Dronfield
was specially endowed by the Abbey in the year 1403. In the History
of Beauchief Abbey, we are told that Thomas Gomfrey was presented
to the Eectory of Dronfield by " John, son of Adam Forester, of
Wormhill, true patron for this turn ;" || and the lord of the manor of

* See the list of Rectors and Vicars of Dronfield in the Reliquary, July, 1874,
from the pen of Mrs. Smith, the wife of the Vicar of the Parish, to whom also we are
indebted for several particulars contained in these pages.

fHaines' Manual of Monumental Brasses, vol. i. p. 130; Cowel's Interpreter.
I Pegge's Collections, vol. v. p. 217.
§ Inq. post Mort. 16 Ric. H., No. 113.
|| Pegge's Beauchief Abbey, p. 93.

DRONFIELD. 211

Dronfield is elsewhere mentioned as patron in 1355 ; but yet Sir
Henry de Brailsford gave the church to Beauchief Abbey in the reign
of Edward I. The solution of this apparent contradiction is to be
found in the practice that even then prevailed of selling the next pre-
sentation, a species of merchandise not unfrequently traded in by the
monasteries.

There are many other memorials in this church to the Fanshawes,
Eyres, Burtons, Morewoods, Eotherhams, Wrights, &c., but they
are all of post-reformation date, and not of sufficient interest to be
dealt with in these pages.

At the end of the south aisle there is a small plain piscina, and it
is probable that here stood the altar of the chantry of St. Mary, which
WMS founded during the rectorship of Thomas Gornfrey. This
chantry was founded in the year 1392, and was most amply endowed
by Ralph Barker and others.* The Barkers were a wealthy family,
and originally of Dore ; the family became extinct in 1789 on the
death of Sir Robert Barker. A second chantry, or, more strictly
speaking, a donative, or independent endowment, was founded by
William Aston, of London, in 1457. They are described as follows in
the Chantry Roll : —

" DRONFIELD. — The fraternitye or Guylde of or Ladye and S.
John Baptiste founded by well dysposed persons in gyvyng lands to

the same for as much as the patronage of the towne was irn-

propriate to the late abbeye of Beauchyff and j vicar appoyuted by
the sayde abbotte ; and the parisshe beiuge greate in conipasse
•abought xx myles and having M howselynge people and manye
liamletts distaunte ij iij or iiij myles — that ij or iij honest prists
within the parish e churche shude celebrate and mynynstre all sacra"
ments and sacrarnentalls and other dyvyne service and to helpe
otherwyse in tyme of necessite, for the creacyon of the Guyldes is
a lycence of the Kyng dated xxix Julye A reign Hen. VII. xxvij —
xi/i. xis. \iijd. clere xii/t. xviijs. \jd. besyds Ixiijs. viijrf. in rente
resolute, j vj.s. viijd. for a baylyffes fee, j for the kepyuge of an obitte
and gyvynge of almess to pore people. Sir Rob. Hawks and Sir
Christ. Haslam prysts. There ys a mancyon house prised att vs. by
yere. Stock iiij//. iijx. viijrf.

" The D om.it yve of Dronfeld founded by Will. Aston citiseu of
London by will dated xxxv Henry VI for j pryste to mayntayue
God's Service, and everye Wednesdaye and Frydaye to say Dyvyge &

* Lysons states this on the authority of Hicron'x Collections, and it is confirmed \>y
the Inquisition which we have already quoted. The Commissioners who drew up the
Chantry Roll do not refer to the original foundation of the chantry of St. Mary, but
its development into a Guild at a later period.

212 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

to praye etc. clere iiij/i. xiijs. iiijj. recyvyd of the Churche Vardeiis
of St Martyns in Ludgate London. Will. Yngham pryste."

A statement similar to this, and only slightly varying in phrase-
ology, is to be found in another copy of the Certificates relative to
chantry property, taken by a Commission in the 37 Henry VIII. It
would be mere repetition to reproduce this second account, but in
the few additional particulars there given, it is mentioned that William
Bowre was " Alderman of the Guyld" hi the reign of Henry VII., and
that " there is neyther chalys nor other ornamentes " belonging to the
Donative. It is also specially observed, both of the Chantry and the
Donative, that neither of them are in separate buildings, but are
administered within the Parish Church of Dronfield.

It is said that the chantry-house for the two priests of the Guild of
St. Mary, stood on the site now occupied by the Green Dragon Inn.

According to Dr. Pegge, the endowment of the atlar of St. Mary, in
1392, was not the original one ; but, with our present information, we
are inclined to think he is in error, especially as the Guild was not
founded until the 27 Henry VII. Unfortunately Dr. Pegge does
not give his authority, but the following is his statement : — " Dron-
field. Guild of St. Mary. Founder unknown. Established 1349
for the support of two chaplains and a light at the altar of the
Virgin Mary." *

John Blackwall was chantry priest of Dronfield in 1506, accord-
ing to an indenture dated at the Chapter House, Beauchief Abbey,
on the Feast of the Purification ; f and Eobert Hancock priest of
St. Mary's Guild, on the 5th September, 37 Henry VIII.J

The entries relative to Dronfield in the Valor Ecclesiastic-its (temp.
27 Henry VIII.) are sufficiently interesting to merit reproduction
in an unabbreviated form.

DBONFELD VICAEIA.
Abbas de Bello Capite Patronus ibidem.

Doruinus Willielmus Cocks Vicarius ibidem habet in communibus annis ut sequitur.

£ s. d.

In primis in Mansione cum gardino tofto et glebis - iij iiij

Item in annuali pensione de abbate de Bello Capite - - - x
Item in decimis minutis communibus annis ----- v iii

Summa x ix viij

Unde resoluta archidiacono Derbie pro scenagio et procuragio - vij vij

De claro x ij j

Decima inde xx ij

* Pegge's Collections, vol. iv.

t Add. MSS. 6667, f 673.

J Hunter's Collections, Add. MSS. 24,460, f. 332.

DRONFIELD. 213

DROXFELD CANTARIA IBIDEM BEATE MARIE.

Ex dono Aldermanni et coiifratrum sed quis ejusdam sit fundator penitus ignorat ut

dicit.

£ s. d.
Dominus Johannes Mylner cantarista ibidem habet in primis in

mansione per annum -- -- v

Item de Aldremanno et confratribus de Dronf eld in annuali redditu vj xii j iiij

Summa vj xviij iiij

Decima inde xiij x

DRONFELD CANTARIA.

£ s. d.

Domiuus Robertus Cartlege cantarista ibidem habet annuatim de
rectore et gardianis Sancti Martini Londonensis infra Ludgate

in redditu iiij xiij iiij

Decima inde ix iiij

There is also a further entry iu the Valor Ecclesiasticus relative
to the appropriated rectory of Dronfield, under the inventory of the
possessions of the monastery of Beauchief. From this it appears
that the church at Dronfield, with the tithes of corn, hay, lambs,
and wool, the oblations, mortuaries, and Easter dues, brought to
the Abbey a sum of £40 14s. 6d. ; the deductions from this sum
were £10 for the Vicar of Droufield (then William Cocks), 12s. 4d.
for the Archdeacon of Derby, and 6s. 8d. for the Bishop of
Coventry and Lichfield.

The Parliamentary Survey of livings, undertaken in 1G50, reports
of Dronfield vicarage that it was then worth £24 per annum, but
received an augmentation of £50 out of the impropriate tithes of
Bolsover. The incumbent was " Mr. Richard Coughland, an able
honest minister."* On his death the Rev. Richard Mandersley
was appointed, and he was amongst the ministers ejected on St.
Bartholomew's Day, 1662. The vicarage of Dronfield then remained
vacant for many months, and eventually, towards the close of 1663,
a petition was sent to Dr. Hackett, the Bishop of Lichfield and
Coventry, from the inhabitants, asking for the appointment of a
regular minister according to the order and discipline of the Church
of England. In this petition it was asserted, that the parishioners
of Droufield had not had " a preaching minister by the space of
fourteen mouths last past, nor have had the sacrament of the
Lord's Supper administered unto them, accordiuge to the rites and

* Parliamentary Survey of Livings, vol. vi, p. 426. The name of this minister
was " Coyhlane," according to the list of rectors and Vicars of Dronfield in the
Reliquary, and it there also said that he died in 1619. But the Commissioners who
reported on Dronfield. sat at Chesterfield on 14th June, 1650, so there is an error on
either one side or the other.

214 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

usuale ceremonies of the Church of England or the ecclesiastical law
in that behalf appointed, by the space of ten years last past.*

The tower contains a peal of six bells, which bear the following
inscriptions : —

I. "I. Bright, Gent., Vigilate et Orate, 1730, and recast by
stibscription 1851. John Taylor and Sons of Loughborough faceruut.''

II. "I. Bright. Gen., Non mihi sed Deo gloria. MDCCXXX."

III. " Jesus be our speed." This inscription is in Lombardic
capital letters. The founder's mark, between the initials H.D., is
that usually attributed to Eichard Mellour of Nottingham, who
flourished about the commencement of the sixteenth century.

IV. "Inc. gloria in excelsis Deo." This inscription is also in
Lombardic type. The founder's mark consists of the initials E.H ,
with a fylfot cross. The bells with this mark, which are dated,
are of the commencement of the seventeenth century. This is the
mark that we have previously attributed to Ealph Heathcote.

V. " Hffic Campana beata Trinitate sacra fiat." The inscription
is in black letter but with Lombardic initials, and the founder's
mark the same as number three.

VI. "Nos sunius construct! ad laudem Domini 1615. The in-
scription is in Koman capitals, and the mark that of Henry
Oldfield.

* Pegge's Collections, vol. v, p. 129.

HnLMKSFIELD. 215

Cfjapelrg of

|OLMESFIELD, now an independent vicarage, was an ancient
parochial cbapelry of Dronfield, but we are not able to
give any information as to its first institution. Nor can
tbe study of its architecture belp us in arriving at its approximate
age, as the old building was pulled down, and a new one erected
on its site in 1826.

The manor of Holmesfield was in the hands of the Deincourts
when the Domesday Survey was taken, and continued in their pos-
session till the reign of Henry VI., when it passed by marriage
in moieties to Cromwell and Lovell.* Subsequently the whole
seems to have come to the Lovells, but on the attainder of Fran-
cis Lord Lovell, who was present at the battle of Stoke, June 16th,
1486, the manor was granted by the crown to Sir John Savage.
Sir John Savage sold the chapel of Holmesfield to the copyholders
on the manor. Dr. Pegge contends that it was a mistake to speak
of this chapel as a chapel of ease to Dronfield, as it was pos-
1 of an independent endowment of its own, to the amount of
forty acres of glebe laud.

There has been some doubt as to the dedication of the old
chapel, but that it was named after St. Swithin is established by
the following extract from the will of Edmund Outram, of the
year 1505.

" In the name of God, Amen. Li the year of cure Lord Jesus
Crist MCCCCC and V, and vi of October, I Edmond Outrim in
hole mind make my testement in this manner. First I bequeith
my sowl to Allniyghty God to oure Lady Sent Mary and all the
Saintes in Heaven And my body to be beryed in the Church
yard of Sen John Babtis of Dronfyeld. Item I bequeth my best

* Domesday Survey, Inq. post Mort. 38 Edw. TIL, No. 11 : 5 Bic. II. No 20'7
Hen. IV., No. 30; 1 Hen. VI., No. 24 ; and 83 Hen. VT., No. 34.

216 DKHHY8HIRE CHURCHES.

- to be my priucepall. Item I gyve and apoyeut a Croft
called ye Stubbing to keep and uphould the services of oner Lady
of Pytty in Dranfyeld Church afore said for Ever. Item I gyve ii
Dolles of Land in the Touen fyeld unto the Chappel of Sawnt
Swythne of Holmesfyeld for Ever to pray for my souel and my
wyfe and my children for my father and my moder souelles and
my brother William souell. The pryes of the said Chappell to

rehearse ouer names every Sunday in the Dominicall

Bedes."*

The plague, which was so destructive at Belper and elsewhere
in the county in the year 1609, reached Holmesfield, and the
curate, Mr. W. Townsed, who died of this fatal sickness, was buried,
according to the Dronfield registers, in the chapelyard on the 24th
March.

The following document, not hitherto published, between the
celebrated John Frechevillef and the principal inhabitants of Holmes-
field and district will be read with interest. "October 8th, 1649.
John Frecheville Esquire and Robert Brome Gent., servant to ye
said John Frecheville, did bargain and sell to Michael Burton of
Holmesfield Esq., Thomas Wright of Unthank Esq., Anthony
Croft of Holmes Gent., Robert Mower of Woodseats Gent., James
Wolstenholm of Cartledge Gent., Richard Outrern of Wallsteeds
Yeoman, Thomas Haslani of Horsley Gate yeoman, Robert Sikes
of Knowles and George Mower of Holmesfield yeoman, and their
heirs, for £141 13s. 4d. paid by the inhabitants of ye chapelry of
Holmesfield, and in consideration of £308 6s. 8d. abated to John
Frecheville Esquire by the Parliament, out of ye fine which he
was taxed and assessed for his delinquencies (and which the Parlia-
ment gave to ye said inhabitants for and towards the purchasing
of £30 per annum for ye Benefit of a minister to serve at Holmes-
field), the tythes of ye moiety of Staveley Rectory, late ye inherit-

* The document from which we have copied the above has been kindly lent to us
by Mrs. Smith (the wife of the present vicar). It is written on a small piece of
paper, in a hand that might be contemporary with the date of the will, and may be
either a rough draft of the commencement of the original will, or a copy of that
portion relative to church endowments. The blank left in the manuscript before the
words " to be my princepall " makes the first supposition the more probable. The
' principal ' of old wills was equivalent to heirloom, and consisted of the best beast,
piece of furniture, etc., which was left to the eldest child, and not liable to partition.
We have failed to decipher the word or words preceding "Domiuicall." Bede is
Aug. Saxon for a prayer, and we suppose that "Dominical Bedes " is an equivalent
for Pater Nosters.

t John Frecheville was most active on the side of the Koyalists. The Wolley
MSS. (quoted in Nichol's Collectanea, 4, 213) say — " the sequestration laid on this
worth}- person was great ; but, as I have been informed, was something mitigated
by friendship, by some of the opposite party." At the restoration he was created a
peer, by the style of Lord Frecheville of Staveley, Musard, and Fitz-ralph.

HOLMESFIELD. 217

ance of Sir Peter Freclieville, father of ye said John Frecheville."*
It is probable that Robert Brome was made a party to this as a
trustee of the will of Sir Peter Frecheville.

Holinesfield, in the Parliamentary Survey of 1G50, is described
as a " chappell of ease and a member of Dronfield, upon the minis-
ter whereof there is lately settled £33 10s. There is noe minister
for the present, and wee think fitt that all Barlowe, which now
belongs either to Dronfield or Staveley should be united to Holmes-
field, and both their chapells to be continued, and an able minis-
ter to officiate for them both (them in i-isibus, untill a church can be
built in some convenient place." But the new church was not
built until nearly two centuries after this recommendation. The
Brief of 1819, from which we have already quoted under Dronfield,
deals also with the two chapelries of Dronfield. Of Holmesfield
it says, "the chapel is a very antient building and so ruinous it
must be wholly taken down and rebuilt." The estimated cost of
the new building, according to the same document, was £1451 12s.

* Pegge's Collections, vol. 5, p. 118.

218 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

of

|HE early history of the parochial chapel of Dore is equally
uncertain with that of Holmesfielcl ; and in this case,
also, remains of the old building are wanting by which
we might be guided to a conclusion. The chapel was rebuilt in
1828, and an endowed school is now erected on the site of the
ancient structure.

The Parliamentary Commission of 1650 recommended the uniting
of Dore, Totley, and Beauchief into a single parish, with a minis-
ter to serve alternately at Dore and Beauchief.

Mr. Stanley, the ejected minister of Eyam, who acted an equally
noble and self-sacrificing part as his successor, Mr. Mompesson,
at the time of the plague, first commenced his ministrations at
Dore, of which chapel he was the preacher for three years."

The tithe of Dore was given to the minister by Cornelius Clarke,
Esq., of Norton, by his will dated July 2nd, 1683, and in another
will dated 1686, he left him also the tithe of Totley. t

The Brief of 1819, from which we have already quoted, does
not speak in high terms of the ancient chapel. " The chapel at
Dore is a very ancient and low mean building with a rotten roof,
and requires a raising of the side walls to support a necessary
new roof with new windows and an addition to be made for the
Communion table." The cost of these alterations, according to an
estimate prepared by Joseph Hobson, of Dronfield, builder, and
Eobert Unwin, of the same place, architect, was to be £208 15s.

The present church of Dore is dedicated to Christ, but this
was a form of dedication so very unusual in pre- reformation days
that we cannot accept it as that of the old chapel.

* Mr. Stanley's fame in this respect has been unjustly overshadowed hy those who
were jealous of virtue in a Nonconformist, but when some narrow spirits called on
the Lord-Lieutenant to remove him from Eyam, where he still continued his labours,
the Earl of Devonshire replied — " That it was more reasonable that the whole
country should, in more than words, testifie their thankfulness to him, who together
with his care of the town had taken such care, as none else did, to prevent the infec-
tion of the towns adjacent."

t Pegge's Collections, vol. v. p. 121.

{jfrfeingfon.

|HE parish church of Eckington is dedicated in honour of
I St. Peter and St. Paul. These names in combination occur
"some two hundred and six times throughout England as
patron saints of pre-reformation churches. This favourite combina-
tion would at first sight seem to have arisen from these two saints
having been universally regarded as the chief of the apostles, and
though this theory probably contains a certain amount of truth, it
is more likely that these saints were thus coupled together from the
traditional days of their martyrdom being one and the same. The
twenty-ninth of June is St. Peter's Day, and, according to some
accounts, that was the day on which St. Paul met his death in the
year 65, though others say that it was in the month of May, 66.
A like cause explains the not unfrequent conjunction of St. Philip
and St. James.

Eckington is first mentioned in the will of Wulfric Spott, 1002,
to which allusion has already been made in these pages. By this
document it was left to Morcare, and not to the Abbey of Burton
as usually asserted. Mr. Thorpe, in his translation of this will,
says that this is the Eckington in Worcestershire, but from the con-
text of other undoubted Derbyshire names there can be no doubt
that he is here mistaken.* At the time of the Domesday Survey
the manor belonged to Ealph Fitzhubert.t As we have before
remarked, no injunction was made upon the compilers of this sur-
vey to enumerate the churches, and it not unfrequeutly happens,
throughout the kingdom, that priests are mentioned, but no churches,
as attached to particular manors. It has generally been understood

* Diplomat or in in AngUcum jEvi Saxonici, p. 545. See description of Beighton
Church, p. 83. The reader, too, who refers to Mr. Thorpe's valuable work, will find
that he was curiously ignorant of the place-names of this county.

•*• Another portion of the manor of Eckington formed, according to Domesday Book,
one of the berewicks or hamlets of the extensive royal manor of Xewbold.

222 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

that the mention of one indicates the presence of the other. "NVe
demur, however, to this conclusion in the case of Eckiugton, where
a priest only is mentioned, for almost immediately below it in
the original document, amongst the manors belonging to Ralph
Fitzhubert, is the case of Barlborough, where both a priest
and a church are enumerated ; and as these two manors were
in all probability enrolled and described at the same time, we
fail to see any reason why the scribes should have omitted the
church of Eckington, if one was then in existence. We offer as a
conjecture, which must be taken for what it is worth, that the ori-
ginal Saxon church in this place, being constructed, as was then
usual, of wood, had been destroyed in the troublous times which
immediately preceded the taking of the Domesday Survey.

The church, which is of large dimensions, consists of a nave,
chancel, and north and south side aisles, whilst at the west end
is a tower surmounted by a spire. The edifice has been sadly
defaced by post-reformation alteration and repairs, but upon enter-
ing the church the early date of its erection is at once obvious.
The nave is separated from the side aisles on each side . by five
semi-circular arches supported by massive pillars. These pillars
are round, with the exception of the two nearest the tower, which
are octagon. These arches are somewhat narrow, and struck us
as being very similar in their proportions, though lacking the orna-
ment, to those in Melbourne Church in this county. These are
specimens of plain early Norman work, and seem to place the date
of the first erection of this church at the end of the eleventh or
commencement of the twelfth century, not many years subsequent
to the time of the Domesday Survey. Ralph Fitzhubert, or his
immediate successors, probably commenced the work. Another
piece of Norman work is to be found in the west doorway into
the tower. This doorway is semi -circular, and on each side are
four rounded columns. It is unfortunately much mutilated, and
has been clumsily repaired with stucco and cement.

The archway into the chancel is a good specimen of the next
period — the Early English. The capitals are effectively carved
with foliage similar to those in a like position at Norton. The
archway, also, leading into the tower from the nave, now blocked
up by a gallery, is of the same date. To this period the tower
must also be assigned. Above the Norman doorway on its western
side are two lancet windows, and above them another very small
one. Near the summit of the tower there are, also, on each side,

ECKINGTON.

three lancet windows of some little size, which served for the pur-
pose of emitting the sound from the hell-chamber. Immediately
underneath the parapet of the tower is a clearly cut moulding, con-
sisting of the four-leaf or tooth ornament alternating with the hall-
flower, a round hollow flower of three petals enclosing a ball.
Tliis ball-flower is supposed to be almost peculiar to the Decorated
style, but there are a few exceptions of earlier date, and we have
no hesitation in considering this as one of them ; unless, which
is hardly likely, this parapet and moulding were added at the time
of the erection of the spire. The spire dates about the middle of
the fourteenth century, and is of the Decorated style. It has a
somewhat squat appearance, and is ornamented with four small
windows. It is clearly of later date than the tower, and the
corbel stones, which' still project from the interior of the walls
above the bells, point out the place from which the roof originally
sprang.

At the basement of the tower, on both the north and south sides,
are pointed archways, carefully filled up with masonry. It seems
highly improbable that they can ever have served as windows, or
led to any other part of the building, and we can therefore merely
conjecture that they were for the purpose of strengthening the
tower.

If we now return into the body of the church we shall notice
that, above the Norman arches already mentioned, there are on
each side five clerestory windows. These are all square headed,
and of the plainest modern description, except the three nearest
the tower on the north side, which still retain their Perpendicular
tracery. In one of these are some very slight remains of old
yellow glass. There are also two windows of the Perpendicular
peiiod in the north aisle, and one large one with six lights of a
very debased style, much resembling that at Dronfield, at the east
end of the chancel. With these exceptions, the windows of both
the aisles and chancel are as incongruous as it is possible to
imagine. The interior is painfully disfigured with galleries, and,
as was usual in the "dark ages" of church architecture, the erec-
tors of these excrescences seemed to be proud of their work and
inscribed their names for the admiration of posterity. The gallery
at the west end was erected in 1725, and those which block up the
north and south aisles in the years 1746 and 1704 respectively.
A vestry plastered with stucco, and surmounted with a red-brick
chimney, was also added to the north of the chancel in the year
1742.

224 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

There are few objects of interest within the church. The font,
under the west gallery, which has an octagon top standing upon
a circular base, seems to be of modern construction. The chancel
contains no less than nine old dark-oak chairs, which look as if
they had hardly been made for the position they now occupy ; and
on the sides of the pulpit are two good bits of old Perpendicular
carving. Eckiugtou possesses, however, one very interesting fea-
ture, which we believe to be unique of its kind — an elaborate squint
or hagioscope.

The use of the squint, as we have previously explained, was to
enable certain worshippers, whose view might have been otherwise
interrupted by intervening pillars or walls, to see the altar when
the host was elevated and at other tunes during the service. The
squint in this instance is of a very elaborate character, and it is
difficult to, describe it without a diagram. It is at the east end
of the north aisle, in the wall which forms the support of the north
side of the chancel arch. There is also, we should remark, a chapel
on the north side of the chancel, which is now principally occupied
by the organ. The openings of this squint are so arranged that
anyone standing by this pillar would not only be able to see through
to the high altar at the east end of the chancel, but also by look-
ing to his left to see through the pillar and another wall so as to
have a view of the altar in the north chapel. These openings are
so narrow that it would be difficult for more than one or two to
avail themselves of them, and we therefore are inclined to think
that here was the station of one of the church servants, whose duty
it was to ring the Sanctus Bell at different parts of the service of
the Mass — this bell being placed, as was often the case, at the
apex of the gable at the east end of the nave.

Though the walls of the chancel are covered with monuments to
the families of Sitwell, Newton, Wigfall, and others, there are none
of sufficient age to warrant our noticing them here, nor could we
with truth say that they are any ornament to the church.

At the bottom, however, of the easternmost window of the north
aisle we noticed some old letters in coloured glass. The inscription
has almost disappeared, but the name " Eoger Darci" can still be
plainly read.

A few words about the successive holders of the manor of
Eckington are here necessary to explain the connection of Eoger
Darci with this Church, and will also serve to illustrate the arms that
were formerly in these windows, and which we shall shortly
enumerate.

ECKINGTON. 225

The barony of Fitzhubert consisted of twenty -five manors in this
county, in addition to several sokes or lordships. The Stotevilles
inherited half of this barony, of -which half the manor of Eckington
formed part.* In the 54th year of Henry III. William de Stuteville
obtained a grant of free warren over the manor of Eckington, and
various Inquisitions up to the reign of Edward II. show the connec-
tion of that family with both the manor and Church of Eckiugton.f
There is no doubt that the advowson of the Church went with the
manor, but the first mention we have found of it was early in the reign
of Edward II. (1310), when Eleanor, the wife of Robert Stoteville,
died seized of both manor and church. Again, in the 16th year of
the same reign, we find Stoteville seized of the same, as weU as of
the adjacent manors of WhitweD, Barlborough, and Duckmantou.
The Stotevilles, having forfeited their estates in 1340, Edward III.
granted the manor of Eckington (or rather, as we think, a portion of
it), and a mediety of the Rectory to John, Lord Darcy, who was
steward of his household. In 1349, Lord Darcy made a presenta-
tion to his mediety of the rectory, and we believe that the other
mediety was held by the Longfords, who held certain lands at
Eckingtou, even in the reign of Edward I., and who are entered iu
Inquisitions of the reign of Edward III., as though actual lords of
the whole manor — the true solution being, as we think, that both the
manor and rectory were for a time divided between the Darcys and
the Longfords. I John, Lord Darcy, married Emilina, daughter and
heiress of Walter de Heron, and died on 30th May, 1348, leaving
two sons — John, who succeeded to the Eckington estates, and Roger,
from whom were descended the Darcys, of Essex. This, then, we
conceive to be the Roger Darci commemorated in the window. It is
unfortunate that we have no more of this inscription left, but even
when Bassano visited the church, upwards of a century and a half
ago, there was only one other word extant, and that the insiguficant
one " quondam."

Other items, connected with the fourteenth century history of this
church, tell us that one Richard Brome was a chaplain at Eck-
iugton in the 16th of Edward III,§ and that three years later the
King gave to Roger Frene, " parson of hah0 the church of Ecking-

*Dugdale's Honasticon, vol. i. p. 268.

t Calend. Rot. Chart. 54 Hen. III., No. 6 ; Inq. post Mort. 10 Edw. I., No. 6;
1 Kdw. II., No. 7; 16 Edw. II., No. 61.

t Inq. post Mort., 32 Edw. I., No. 24 ; 30 Edw. III., No. 31 ; 30 Edw. HI., No. 33 ;
•17 Kdw. III.. X... -2L>.

§ Pegge's Collections, vol. v., p. 57.

Q

226 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

ton," two messuages, and two bovates of land, in Mosborough,
which had formerly been held by John de Musters.* In the last
year of the century, Philip Darcy died seized of the manor and
advowson (probably only a mediety) of Eckington (as weh1 as the
advowson of Beighton), and in 1412, Elizabeth, his widow, and hi
1422, his son John, were seized of the same.f In the reign of
Henry VI., the co-heiresses of Philip, Lord Darcy (son of the last
mentioned John), were married to Strangeways and Conyers ;
Elizabeth, the eldest daughter, to Sir James Strangeways, and
Margery to Sir John Conyers. The manor of Eckiugton and the
church advowson formed part of the marriage portion of Elizabeth ;
but hi 1540 they were sold to William, Lord Dacre, and on the
attainder of Leonard Dacre, became forfeited to the crown. The
rectory of Eckington has henceforth remained in the gift of the
crown.!

The two medieties of this living were made one in 1456, when
Reginald, Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, at the request of Sir
James Strangeways and Elizabeth his wife, the patrons, and with the
consent of William Orele, A.M., Rector or Portionarius of one niediety,
and Thomas Kirkby, Rector or Portionarius of the other mediety.
agreed that the survivor of the holders of these two medieties should
take both, and that there should be forever after but one institution. §

This church at one tune possessed a considerable display of
heraldic glass in its windows. In William Wyrley's copy of Flower
and Glover's Visitation of 1569, taken with additions in 1592, occurs
the following notice of the arms then extant in the Church of Ecking-
ton : — " Eckiugton is placed at the farthest extend of Darbieshier
into the north, near to the Rother and the Mease brokes. In the
church the s Armes following: — 1|

"1. Barry of eight, gu. and or, a canton, erm. (Goushill).

" 2. Arg., a chevron, az., a label of three points, erm. (Swillington).

" 3. So,., a bend between six escallops, or. (Foljambe).

"4. Az., a bend between six escallops, arg. (FrecheviUe).

« Abbrev. Rot. Orig., 19 Edw. HI.

flnq. post mort. 22 Ric. II., No. 17; 13 Hen. IV., No. 36; 10 Hen. VI., No. 4±
Another Inquisition of the reign of Henry V., styles the widow of Philip Darcy,
Alicia. But this is an error, for Philip Lord Darcy, Admiral of the Fleet, married
Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Thomas Grey, of Hetou.

J Dugdale's Baronage. We are also indebted to a MS. pedigree of the Darcys
(chiefly based on Thoroton's Nottinghamshire. Hunter's South Yorkshire, and
Thoresby's Ducatvs Leodiensis), which was kindly supplied to us by the late Mr.
Swift, of Sheffield.

§ Pegge's Collections, vol. vi., p. 81.
Harl. MSS. 6592, f. 111.

ECKINGTON. 227

•' 5. ,s'«., three escallops, ar<j. (Strickland) ; impaling, az., a bend,
erm. (Philpot).*

"6. Az., three cinquefoils between nine cross-crosslets, arg.
(Darcy).

" 7. Arg., a maunch, sa. (Hastings).

"8. Arg., a fesse, gu., between three bucks, sa. ( ).

"9. Castile and Leon, quarterly ; impaling France and England,
quarterly, a label of three points.

" 10. France and England, quarterly, a label of five points.

" 11. Quarterly, 1st and 4th, az., three cinquefoils between eight
cross-crosslets, anj., (Darcy) ; 2nd and 3rd Barry of six, az.
and or (Meynell).

" 12. Quarterly, 1st and 4th, Sa., two lions passant in pale, or
(Strangeways) ; 2nd and 3rd quarterly as the last shield above
mentioned.

" These two in one windowe —
fenestr fecer beth feltion.

" Arg., on a bend between two cotises, yu., three roundles
(Felton ?)

" Sa., two lions passant in pale, paly of four, arg. and gu.
(Strangeways.)

"The picture of a priest in the same windowe, on his vestment
wrought, sa., two lyones passant, arg."

We have added the names of the families bearing these coats
as far as we were able, and it is easy to account for the presence of
the great majority of them at Eckington. In addition to the
claims of Longford on the manor proper of Eckington, it should
also be noted that the manor of Killamarsh, formerly part of this
parish, was held by Hathersage in the reign of Henry VIII.
Thence it passed by marriage in moieties to Longford and Goushill.
A sister and co-heiress of the last heir male of Longford married
Hastings. Kobert de Swillington, lord of the manor of Crich,
South Wiufield, and Tibshelf in this county, held certain lands
in Eckington in the reign of Henry V. Henry Foljambe of Walton
was a landowner of the same parish, and so also were the
Frechevilles.f Probably different members of these families were

* The first of these coats was also borue by Bisse, Craven, Eastcott, and Shelton.
There was a marriage between Strickland and Philpot in the fifteenth century, but
we have not been able to satisfactorily account for the presence of this impalement
at Eckington.

t Nichols' Collectanea, passim. There was also a marriage between Darcy and
Frecheville at the close of the sixteenth century, when John, son and heir of Michael
Harry, son of John Baron Darcy of Ashton, married Rosamond, daughter of Sir
1'eter Frecheville of Staveley.

228 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

at one time benefactors to their parish church. The connection
of Darcy and Strangeways with the manor and advowson has been
already fully explained. John Lord Darcy, the son of John Lord
Darcy, by Emeline de Heron, married Elizabeth, daughter and
heiress of Nicholas Meynell. The quartered coats, numbered 11
and 12 above, refer to this match. Hugh de Meynill of Hilton,
Yorks, bore arms similar to those there described in the year
1203. The arms that have now for several centuries been borne
by the Meynells (Vaire, ary. and sa.,) are not their own, but were
assumed by a subsequent Hugh Meynell, when he married the
heiress of Ward.*

Almost all these shields appear to have been demolished before
1710, for Bassano only describes two quartered coats in the east
window of the south aisle. Bassauo further speaks, in the same
place, of the east end of the north aisle as the " Linacre quire,"
and in his volume of pedigrees, also preserved at the College of
Arms, says — " in the east end of the north aisle of Eckington
church was quire belonging to Linacre family, where was their place of
sepulture. But I take Brarnpton Chesterfield for their most
antient burying place, because the mansion of Liuacre their
antient seat is within Brampton." f

The Eev. John Hunter, who examined this church on May 25th,
1801, mentions that the east window of the chancel then contained
''the arms of England, Foljambe, aud other fragments of old
armoury, and some modern emblems, believed to be the coat of
Dr. Griffiths, formerly rector, presented by the Prince of "Wales in
1739." +

Lysons' church notes of 1815 also mention the arms of
England and the lilies of France in the east window, and further
note that a copy of Fox's Book of Martyrs was chained to a desk
in the chancel. §

The Gentleman's Magazine, for October, 1795, gives an engraving
of Eckiugton Rectory, with an inaccurate representation of the

* Darcy Pedigree. Harl. MSS. 4031, f. 127.

tPegge's Collections, vol. vi, p. 81.

t Hunter's Collections. Add. MSS. 24,466.

§ Lysons' Church Notes, Add. MSS. 9463. There is a further notice of Eckiugtou
iu the Lysons' Correspondence (Add. MSS. 9448, f. 237), which had escaped our
attention when writing in the text as to the name "Roger Darcy," in the north
window. The letter in question, dated 6th January, 1817. speaks of the inscription
as " Rogerus Darcy, Eector de Ekynton." If this is a correct reading, it throws some
doubt on our appropriation of the inscription to Roger Darcy of the reign of Edward
III., who was a layman ; unless indeed he held the revenues of the rectory as a lay
rector. We cannot find any other Roger Darcy of later date mentioned in the
lees, but priests were frequently omitted.

ECKIXGTOX.

church to the right hand. The engraving is ncfompauicd by a
short account of Eckingtou from the pen of Mr Malcolm, but all
that he finds to say of the church is, that it is -'a good old
building, clean, and in good repair."

The Taxation Boll of Pope Nicholas IV., taken in 1291, value-
the Church of Eckington "cum membris " at £40 per annum.
The Valor BcdegMuticut, of the 27 Henry VIII., mentions Sir James
Strangeways as patron, and Richard Hill as Rector. At that time
the rectory, after the deduction of the Archidiaconal fees, was
valued at £40 13s. 4d.

From the same source we gather the following particulars
relative to the guilds in this Church.

EKYNGTON GILDA BEATE MARIE.

Fundata per dictum Jacobum Strange-ways Militem et confratres ejusdem Glide.
Dominns Robertas Farneham oapellanus dicte glide habet in

pecuniis per annum

£ s. d.

De claro v

Decima inde x

EKYNGTON GILDA SANCTE CRUCIS.
Fundata per dictum Jacobum Strangwis Militem.
Dominus Johannes Lee capellanus ejusdem glide habet in Ekyng-
tonpredicta xij cotagia xvj acras terre et prati ix gardina et duas

clausuras ibidem per annum

£ s. d.

De claro iiij viij viij

Decima inde viij x ob'

These particulars would lead us to suppose that these guilds or
chantries were both founded by Sir James Strangeways ; but accord-
ing to the Chantry Roll, they were conjointly established as early as
the reign of Richard II. Probably Sir James Straugeways re-
established them on a wider basis and extended their endowments.
The Chantry Roll says : —

" The Gylde of or Blessed Ladye and the Holye Crosse founded
by well disposed persons who gave lands and tenements for finding
of ij prysts to celebrate masse, and to praye for the bretheru and
system, and also to helpe towards the mynistrynge of Sacraments
and other Divine Service, for the parisshe is large and divyded into
many hamletts some n or in myles dystannte so that when the
Visitacyon of God cometh emongiste them the person and his parishe
preste is nott suffyent in tyme of iiecessite to mynystre there. For
the purchasing of which lands they had lycence of K. Richard II.
dated xvi. Sept. A. Regni xvi. clere \(i. \d. besydes xxxvs. xjj. in
rente resolute. Jo. Lee and Christ Greene Chauntrye prists. Stock
Ixij.s1. viij./."

230 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

There is some curious confusion as to the names of these guilds,
for in extracts made from the First Fruits' Office, we read of
Christopher Greene being chantry priest of St. Mary's Guild, at
Eckington, on the llth August, 85 Henry VIII., and of Eobert
Hyde being chantry priest of Trinity* Guild in the same church on
the 2nd November, 34 Henry VIII.

Hunter also quotes a deed, circa 1530, by which Sir James Strange-
ways, Gustos of the Guild of the Blessed Mary, Henry - - and
Henry Wigfall, Guardians, and Edward Eyre, George Killinghall,
William Kotherham, and William Stringfellow, Confratres, makes a
grant to George Linacre, of Phmiley.t

When the Commissioners of the Commonwealth visited Eckington
in 1650, they reported — "there is one Mr. Gardiner pleading to be
the present incumbent, who is now Proctor in Cambridge. One Mr.
Fairfax is Curatt at Eckington and approved off."i

It is not our practice in these pages to enter into any of the later
history of Church patronage, but an exception may here be made
in favour of a quotation from the memoranda of Bishop Kennett,§
which explains the extract from the Parliamentary Survey. He
says — " the perpetual advowsou was in the Crown, and granted
for 99 years by King Charles II. to Lord Frecheville, of Staveley, who
sold the remainder of the term to Dr. Gardiner, whose son, W.
Gardiner, when in possession, mortgaged the right to Mr. Cook, who
on the death of Mr. Gardiner presented Mr. Griffith. The sou of
Mr. Gardiner brought his bill in Chancery in hopes of relief
against the mortgagee, but not being able to raise money to discharge
the debt of £800, he lost the equity of redemption and the turn of
presentation, and is now a poor drunken curate. "||

Bishop Kennett, who visited Eckiugton on September 10th, 1723,
also writes: — "At the beginning of the last register (1707) is a
catalogue of all the na-mes of the successive Churchwardens, and the
works done by them : —

" 1707. They altered the bell frames, and hung the bells anew.

* Hunter's Collections, Add. MSS. 24,460, f . 332.
t Hunter's Collections, Add. MSS. 24,460, f. 124.
JParl. Survey of Livings, vol. vi., p. 464.

§ It is said that Dr. White Kennett, Archdeacon of Huntingdon, obtained preferment
to the Deanery of Peterborough, and subsequently to the Bishopric, by preaching
the funeral sermon of the first Duke of Devonshire, at All Saints', Derby, on Sep-
tember 5th, 1707 The sermon, dedicated to the second Duke, was extravagant in its
eulogy of the deceased, who had not lived the most correct of lives, and was most
severely handled in The Hazard of a Death-bed Repentance, and other publications
of the Nonjuring party. But these attacks had rather the effect of accelerating than
retarding Kennett's promotion.

II Lansdowne MSS. 972.

ECKINGTON. 231

"1712. The 1st bell was bought, the steeple pointed, and the
weathercock set up.

" 1713. Set up the sun-dial.

" 1714. Put up window on north side, for light to the pulpit.

"1715. Set up the fane.

"1717. Opened the north door, and made the new one.

" 1718. Whitened the church, and set up the bequest board.

" 1719. Set up 2 pinnacles on the upper roof of the south side."

The tower contains a peal of six bells.* The tenor, which weighs
eighteen cwt., bears the inscription — Gloria in Excelsis Deo, Anno Dni,
1614. It also bears the monogram I.H.S., the initial letters Gr. H.,
and the founder's mark. Another bell, which is destitute of any
inscription or date, has the same marks with the addition of some
fleurs-de-lis, and a cross with four nails between the arms. A third
with the same founder's mark is inscribed —Gloria in Excelsis, 1609.
A fourth bears — Gloria soli Deo 1634. The two others are of the year
1805. There is also in the bell-chamber a small bell much resembling
what we have more than once in these pages described as a sauctus bell,
but in this instance it bears the date of 1737, and the initials B.H.F.
It seems probable that it originally served the Catholic purpose of a
sanctus bell, but was re-cast at the date above-mentioned and placed
in its present locality to be used as a service bell. At the time of the
Keformatiou the use of all bells during Service time was strictly pro-
hibited, with the exception of " Sermon bells," which were allowed to
be rung for a few minutes before the sermon, thus affording proof that
in those days it was no unusual thing for part of the congregation to
attend only to hear the sermon, or, what is perhaps more important,
to leave before it commenced. Many of the sanctus bells were
then removed from their position over the gable of the nave, and
were placed in the belfry to serve as sermon bells.t

The following quaint lines may be found on a blank page in an
old register of this parish, 1666 — 1695 : —

" Our grandfathers were Papists,
Our fathers Oliverians,
We their sons are Atheists,
Sure our sons will be queer ones."

* Information reaches us, as these pages are going through the press (August, 1875),
that it has been decided to have these bells broken up and re-cast into a peal of
eight.

•f See the Index to the Parker's Society's Publications, v. Bells.

lUnifon*

Clinton.

church is an unsightly Georgian structure, dedi-
cated to St. Peter, and consists of a chancel, nave, and
bell turret. But a very old church, dedicated to St.
lYur, formerly stood upon this site. At the time of the Domes-
day Survey, mention is made of a priest and a church at Elm-
ton. Elmton was one of the five manors held by Walter Deincourt at
that period, and it continued in the same family till the death of
William, Lord Deiucourt, in 1422. The church of Ehnton was
given to the priory of Thurgartou, in Nottinghamshire, by Pialph
Deincourt, the founder.* In the first year of the reign of George
III. (1760) a Brief was granted for the rebuilding of this church,
and it appears from a date over the porch to have been completed
in the year 1771.

The original Brief is now in the British Museum, t and from it
we take the following interesting extracts, relative to the condition
and size of the church that was pulled down last century. " Whereas
it hath been represented unto us, as well upon the humble petition
of the minister, churchwarden, and major part of the principal
inhabitants of the parish of Elmton, in the county of Derby, as
also by certificate under the hands of our trusty and weU beloved
William Fitzherbert, Thomas Wright, George Venables Vernon,
Philip Gell, and John Simpson, Esquires, our Justices of the
peace for our said county of Derby, made at their General Quarter
Sessions of the peace held on the loth July in the thirty- fourth
year of the reign of our late Royal Grandfather, That the parish
church of Elmton aforesaid is a very large and spacious structure,
consisting of Three Isles and one Cross Isle with the Steeple and

* Ealph Deincourt was the son of Walter. He founded Thurgarton in the reign of
Henry II. Thoroton's Nottinghamshire, TO!, i p. '212.

t The petition of the inhabitants to Quarter Sessions asking the justices to apply
for the Brief, in accordance with 4 Anne, cap. 14, is among the Derbyshire County
Eecords.

236 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Tower in the centre thereof : That notwithstanding large sums of
money have been laid out and expended for several years past in
repairing both the said Church and Steeple, they are by length of
time become very ruinous and decayed : that part of the steeple
and west end of the Church are fallen down, and so much of the
Church and Steeple as remained are so crooked and bulged in the
foundation and walls that they cannot any longer be supported
but must be wholly taken down and rebuilt, &c., &c." The Brief
then proceeds to state that a sworn estimate has been made of
£1288 as the necessary outlay for pulling down and rebuilding the
church, that the inhabitants of Elmtou being " chiefly tenants at
rack rents and burdened with numerous poor " are unable to help
themselves and finally appoints Gilbert Rhodes, Eichard Bagshaw.
John Simpson, and Joseph Briggs, Esquires, the Eev. John
Griffith, D.D., the Rev. Francis Bower, Chaworth Hallowes,
Samuel Yates, and John Richardson, clerks, John Nerborn, Thomas
Stevenson, and John Stevenson, gentlemen, and the Churchwardens
of Elmton, to act as trustees for the money collected.

We "could have forgiven them erecting buttresses, even larger
and more clumsy than those to be found at the neighbouring
church of Clown, if only they had preserved to us a portion of
the old cruciform church.

One memorial of the old church still remains under the com-
munion table. Mr. Bateman, writing in 1848, describes it as a
slab with a cross fleury engraved on it, and this inscription in text
hand: — "Orate pro auima Roberte Berbi."* The first half of
this inscription can be plainly noted written across the stem of the
cross, but the name we failed to decipher. It seemed that there
had been a marginal inscription at one time all round the stone,
but " decbr " and " obiit " were all that we could read.

This slab, one or two gurgoyles, and an ancient piscina are all the
relics now remaining of the fabric demolished in 1760. This piscina,
we are told, stands in the house of a cottager named Sykes, where
it is now preserved in good condition, though it was formerly used
as a mortar in which to bruise corn. It is described as being
of a large square shape, standing about eighteen inches high.t

* Vestiges of the Antiquities of Derbyshire, p. 208.

t The Vicar, Rev. Rowland P. Hills, to whom we are indebted for this information,
farther informs us that the registers contain no reference which could throw any
light on the size, condition, etc., of the old church. It is generally supposed that the
old building .siuuil boinewLiit further back than the modern one. There is also a
tradition current in the neighbourhood that there was once a priory at Elmton.
This probably arose from the connection of the church with the priory of Thurgar-
ton, and it is possible that there may have been at one time a cell or residence at
Elmton for one or more of the canons of that foundation.

ELM TON. 237

The church of Elmtou could not have been appropriated to
Thurgarton by Ralph Deincourt, but merely the advowson presented
to that monastery, for the Taxation Roll of 1291, describes it as
an " ecclesia " worth .£8 per annum, and not as a vicarage. But
the tithes must have been subsequently appropriated, for the
V'l/nr Ecclfsiasticus of Henry VIII. reports it to be a vicarage, with
the Prior of Thurgarton as patron. The following are the parti-
culars of the value of the vicarage at that period : —

ELMETON VICARIA.

Prior de Thurgreton Patroness ibidem.

Dominus Robertus Codgrave Vicarius ibidem habet in communibus annis ut sequitur.

£ s. A.
In priinis in Mansione cum glebarum tertia, parte ad rectoriam

pertiuente xxvj viij

In tertia parte garbarum et feni xxxiij iiij

In decimis minutis ....----.. vj jijj

In deciinis tertie partis lane et agnellorum - - - xviij

In paschali rotulo .---..-... xx

In Oblationibus iij jiij

In mortuariis et aliis casualibus -..-... iiij

Summa v xi viij

Uncle resoluta est archidiacono Derbie pro scenagio et procuragio - x vij

De claro v viij

Decima inde x i ob'.

According to the Parliamentary Commission of 1G50, the vicarage
was worth £5, and the impropriated tithes amounted to £60 per
annum. These latter were held by Mr. Francis Rodes, who found
the minister. The minister was Mr. Deane, " an insufficient man "
Probably the old church was even then out of repair, for the Com-
missioners add, " wee thinke fitt that Elmeton be united to Clowne,
as also that part of Cresswell which belongs to Elmeton."

The turret at the west end of the church contains three bells.
The old ones were taken down in 1845, and recast by C. and S.
Mears, of London. Each bell bears the name of the founders,
and the year of its recasting, and, in addition to this, the first is
inscribed "William Hatfield de Rhodes, Patron;" the second,
"William Senior Salman, Clerk, M.A. , Vicar. Robert Roberts,
Robert Butcher, Churchwardens, George Cropper, Parish Clerk;"
and the third, " John Lonsdale, Bishop of Lichfield. Robert Augus-
tus Shirley, Archdeacon of Derby."

IjauH IjurfcnalflL

||HE parish of Hault Hucknall comprises the hamlets of
Staiusby, Astwith, Hardstaff, and Eowthorn. Though no
mention is made of Hault Hucknall itself in the Domesday
Book, the manors of Stainsby, Hardstaff, and Eowthorn are therein
described; the last of these was then in the hands of Eoger de Busli, and
the two former were held by Eoger de Poictou, who also owned the ad-
jacent manors of Heath and Sutton. It is mentioned under Stainsby
(Steinesbi') that " there is a priest, with three bordars * and one acre of
pasture ; " there are no remains of any church at Stainsby, and pos-
sibly this was the priest who served the church of the closely adjoin-
ing manor of Hault Hucknall, which may have escaped mention at
the time of the survey. It is also just possible that the mention of
a priest without a church, in this and some other instances in the
Domesday Survey, may imply the priest of a domestic chapel
attached to the manor house. But be this as it may, the manor
of Stainsby certainly supported a chaplain in the fourteenth century
and subsequently, when it was in the hands of the Savages. Geof-
frey de Langholt and Henry de Stokes in the reign of Edward III.,
and John Morsell in the reign of Eichard II., are mentioned as
chaplains in different Inquisitious.t Moreover, the feast day, or
wakes, is regulated by St. Peter's day in this township, in contra-
distinction to the remainder of the parish, which lends support to
the tradition of a distinctive chapel at Stainsby.

Lysons states that the church of Hault Huckuall was appro-
priated to the priory of Beauchief, but in this he is mistaken, for it
undoubtedly at one time formed a part of the endowment of New-

* The bordars of the Domesday Survey were cottage holders, who held their home-
steads (bords) with small parcels of land, on condition of performing certain services
for the lord.

flnq. post Mort. 2 Edw. Ill , No. 115 ; 50 Edw. III., pt. '2, No. 31 ; and 8 Ric. II.,
No. 44.

242 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

stead Priory, Nottinghamshire.* The manor of Rowthorn was also
in possession of this Priory for several centuries. The usual authori-
ties are silent as to the dedication of this church, and Dr. Pegge
expressly states his inability to ascertain it, but we know of no
reason to doubt the accuracy of the current impression, that it is dedi-
cated to St. John the Baptist.

The church consists of a nave, two side aisles, south porch, and a
tower, near the centre of the building, between the nave and chancel.
On entering the church we soon perceive sufficient Norman remains
to justify us in the belief that there was, at any rate, a church here at a
time not far distant from the date of the Domesday Survey. The nave
is separated from a narrow north aisle by two semi-circular Norman
arches. The west window of the north aisle is a small round-headed
light, about two feet long by six inches broad, and deeply splayed on
the inside. The other windows of this aisle are much later. At the
east end of the nave, opening under the tower, is a fine Norman arch-
way of considerable span. It is ornamented with bold mouldings of
the beak-head and chevron patterns, and with other curious devices,
amongst which may be noticed the figui-e of a camel, two quaint figures
of men, a chalice, a knot resembling the Stafford badge, and various
human faces. The base, too, of the tower seems to be part of the old
building, and after passing underneath it, the chancel is entered by a
high narrow archway with a rounded top entirely destitute of orna-
ment or moulding, t

On the exterior of the church several stones will be noticed by the
practised eye, which show by their moulding that they have formerly
served in a Norman building. But the most interesting relic of the
old church is the upper part of a now built-up doorway at the west
end of the nave. It consists of the tympanum or semi-circular stone,
which so often formed the upper part of a Norman doorway. This
tympanum is most quaintly carved with rude mythological figures. It
was considered of sufficient importance, even last century, to merit a
description and an engraving in the Gentleman's Maijazine.^ It appears
to be in much the same condition now as when then described. To
the observer's right is a tall quadruped with a long tapering neck,

* Pilkington's Derbyshire, vol. ii., p. 243. The absence of all mention of Hault
Hucknall in the Chartulary of Beauchief Abbey (Pegge's Collections, vol. vii., Col-
lege of Arms) is a conclusive proof of Lyson's error.

t We have heard the opinion expressed by a sound archaeologist that this arch may
very likely be one of Saxon structure. We do not, however, feel competent to express
an opinion unless the masonry was laid bare throughout, and are inclined to regard
the supposition as unlikely.

| June, 1799.

HAULT HUCKNALL.

^T DOORWAY.

FRAGMENT OF OLD SCREEN.

Ionic i ires Fic'-Smnle Ptoctii Deity

HAULT HUCKNALL. 243

somewhat resembling a giraffe, but the head terminates in a beak, and
each of the legs in claws. The tail twists back between the legs and
behind the back, above which it seems to terminate in a cross set in a
circle. In the right hand corner is another much smaller quadruped
with ears. Down the centre of the stone is a Latin cross with a long
stem ; on the left hand is a centaur, corresponding in size with the
giraffe-like figure opposite, in one hand it holds a palm branch, with
the other it grasps the cross. If these figures or those described below,
are intended to have any allegorical or other meaning beyond the fact
of being, perhaps, emblematical of the power of the cross, we must con-
fess that we are completely puzzled. But comparing it with sculp-
tured stones of a similar date and in similar positions, which we have
elsewhere seen, we imagine that the subjects merely arose in the
caprice of the artist and the capabilities of the stone.*

Immediately below this is a second oblong stone, which has, we think,
been built into a position for which it was not originally intended. It
is now in two pieces, but has evidently once formed a single block. To
the right is a large winged dragon with a protruding forked tongue.
The tongue almost reaches an upright cross, on the other side of which
is a man bearing on his left arm a kite- shaped shield, and in his right
hand an extended sword. Below his right arm is what appears to be
another shield, resting on the ground.

The three-light pointed west window, above these sculptures, is a good
specimen of the Decorated period, to which time, too, belong the three-
pointed arches which separate the nave from the south aisle. The
high-pitch roof of the nave, as well as of the chancel (though the latter
is partially hid with plaster) is also of the Decorated style. It is con-
structed of light-coloured oak, with some bold tracery above the tie
beams. In its general features it closely resembles the recently ex-
posed roof of the nave of the adjacent church of North Wiufield, and
was doubtless contrived by the same architect.

During the Perpendicular period the church underwent a considera-
ble change, by far the greater part of that which now exists being
attributable to that date. The south porch, all the square-headed
windows of the south aisle and south chapel, together with the east
window of the chancel, the roofs of the aisle, the upper storey of the
tower, with its embattled parapet and crocketted pinnacles, and the rest
of the battlements and pinnacles that ornament the south side and the
chancel, are all of the last style of Gothic ^architecture.

* So far as Derbyshire memorials of a like nature are concerned, this tympanum
may be well compared with the tympana of the churches of Hognastoii and Parwich,
and with the curious figures incised on the font at Tissington.

DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

At the end of the south aisle there are two steps down to the lower
level, and the aisle is then continued past the tower in the centre,
and parallel to the chancel, with both of which are communicating
archways. One, or perhaps, two chapels are thus formed. Here,
against the south wall is the upper part of the old font, circular, mas-
sive, and plain. Its diameter is two feet six inches, the depth of bowl
thirteen inches, and the total depth nineteen. In the modern vestry,
to the north of the chancel, is a banished pilaster abomination which
long acted as its substitute, and close to the main entrance is a hand-
some solid modern font made after a Norman design ; but still we can-
not but regret to see the original one, with all its hallowed associations,
lying here unused. Here, too, is a massive old oak bench (that makes
us still more regret the high pews of a greater part of the interior), to-
gether with a handsome fragment of oak carving, a portion, we sup-
pose, of a former screen. Here, also, is a post-reformation memorial
which cannot be passed over in silence. Beneath a plain black marble
slab are the bones of that fine old philosopher, Thomas Hobbes, whose
thoughts being a century or more in advance of his contemporaries,
gained him the title of atheist. Notwithstanding the aristocratic air
that he breathed, his principles were sternly democratic.* His princi-
pal philosophic work was the celebrated Leviathan, but he is better
known to Derbyshire readers as the author of a descriptive Latin poem
called " De Mirabilil/us Peed." It is said that shortly before his death
he desired that his sole epitaph should be " The Philosopher's Stone,"
but the following inscription is now above his remains : —

" Condita hie sunt ossa Thomas Hobbes, Malrnesburiensis, qui per
imiltos annos servivit duobus Devoniae Coniitibus patri et filio. Ver

* This sentence stands as it originally appeared, but it is only fair to the memory of
Thomas Hobbes to give the following jeu d' esprit, from the pen of a literary gentle-
man well qualified to write on metaphysical subjects, which appeared in the ''Local
Notes and Queries " of the Derbyshire Times, immediately after the publication of the
notes on Hault Hucknall Church :—

'' I, Thomas Hobbes. cannot submit to misrepresentation of any sort, especially fit
the hands of one who seems favourably disposed towards me. I therefore beg, .Mr.
Editor, that you will inform the writer of the Notes on Derbyshire Churches, that I
am not altogether the fellow he takes me for. When I foresaw the coming of the
great rebellion, I took myself to Paris, and there taught mathematics to the young
Prince Charles : this was not the action of a ' democrat.' Again, in my Leviathan, I
so set forth the right of the king, as well spiritual as temporal, not only by general
reasonings, but by the authority of the Holy Scriptures, as to make it evident that
there would not be any permanent peace anywhere in the Christian world, unless his
doctrine were received, or there were a sufficiently strong army to establish peace by
force. Democrat John Milton thought and spoke otherwise. In one passage I
made a fair comparison of the respective advantages of Monarchy, Aristocracy, and
Democracy; and with most incontestable justice assigned the palm to Monarchy. I
was no democrat, as democrats were held in those days ; what I might be now, if they
woxild lift up that piece of marble, which weighs so heavily on my breastbone, that I
can hardly form two ideas, is another question. If you want to know what I was, read
me. There !

THOMAS HOBBES (Deceased)."

HAULT HUCKNALL. 245

probus, ct fama eruditionis domi forisque bene cognitus. Obiit Anno
domiiii 1679, meusis Decembris die 4, setatis suse 91."

At the east cud of tko south chapel is a heavy sarcophagus-like
tomb to the memory of Anne, daughter of Henry Kighley, and wilt-
of "\Villiam, tlie first Earl of Devonshire. She died in 1G28. Above
this memorial is a four-light window containing some good remnants
of old glass. In the upper part of the first light is a draped femalr
figure with the hands clasped, of which the head is missing ; in the
second light is a figure of Christ on the cross, of which the head,
arms, and waist are still perfect, above the head is a star having
an rye in the centre ; the third contains a man with long hair and
a glory round his head ; and the fourth is a figure of a man (of
which, part of the crown above the head is left) with an arrow iri his
right hand. Beneath the barbed point of the arrow the figures of
seven small children are clustered.* Below this series of figures has
run an inscription, showing that this was a memorial window. All that
is now left are the disjointed words — "bono — Joins — cccc vicessimo."
Below this again are four small compartments at the base of the win-
dow. In the one to the left are two female figures kneeling at desks
with open books. They wear pedimented head-dresses, and have
royal coats of arms embroidered on their mantles. Part of the charge
is missing, but it now is as foUows : — Quarterly of four: 1 and 4
grand quarters, France and England quarterly ; 2, three lions ram-
pant ; 3, blank. The second light has an impaled shield, the dexter
side arg., a saltire, az. ; the sinister side blank. The third has a man
in a blue mantle kneeling at a desk, and the fourth two figures
similarly placed and clad. The blue in these figures is particularly
rich and deep. This must be the window described in the Visitation
of Derbyshire by the Norroy King of Arms, Eichard St. George. He
visited the Church of Hault Hucknall on the 22nd of August, 1611,
and gives the following account of the arms then extant hi the win-
dows : — "England, on a chief, az., a religious building, a woman
holding a crosier, or. Under it — ' Orate pro bono statu Ricardi
Pauson Vicarii istius ecclesiae.'

" Upon a man kneeling these arms — Quarterly; 1st and -4th «/•//.
a pale lozengy, sa. (Savage) ; 2nd, or, on a fess, az., three garbs pro-
per ; 3rd, a chevron between three martlets. Under it — ' Orate pro

* We have consulted the Rev. F. C. Husenbeth's work on the Emblems of Saints,
and other authorities, but can meet with no description that exactly tallies with this
crowned figure, with the arrow (or barb) and children. If it was not for the children,
\>f should suppose it to represent St. Edmund, the Martyr Kin^r.

246 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

bono statu Joliis Savage inilitis et Elizabetha uxoris ejus, qui me
fieri fecerunt. A.D. 1527.'

" Upon a woman kneeling — Quarterly : 1st and 4th, France and
England on a fess within a bordure, Gobone (Somerset) ; 2nd, Her-
bert ; 3rd, Woodville.

" Under the arms of Hardwick impaling a broken coat — ' Orate pro
bono statu Joins Hardwick Generosi et uxoris ejus.' "*

The John Hardwick here mentioned would be the father of Eliza-
beth, Countess of Shrewsbury. He died in 1528, and left issue by
Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Leake, one son and four daughters.
The son, John, married three times, but died without issue. The
daughters and co-heiresses were — Jane, married to Godfrey Boswell ;
Mary, married to Richard Wingfield ; Alice, married to Francis Leche,
of Chatsworth ; and Elizabeth, who brought the manor of Hardwick
to her second husband, Sir William Cavendish, from whence it has
descended to the Dukes of Devonshire.

The manor of Stainsby came into the family of Savage in the reign
of King John,f and continued to be held by them till about 1580,
when John Savage conveyed it to Lord Chancellor Bromley, by whom
it was in turn conveyed to the Cavendishes. The arms of Savage, of
Stainsby, were, arg. , six lions rampant, sa. ; but about the middle of
the fourteenth century Sir John Savage married Margaret, daughter
and heiress of Sir Thomas Daniers (or Daniel), of Clifton, in Cheshire,
afterwards called Eock-Savage. Sir John Savage removed to
Cheshire, leaving a younger branch in possession of Stainsby ; but
after a time the Derbyshire estate reverted to the elder branch. Sir
Thomas Daniers had married the daughter and heiress of Robert
Chedel, of Chedel, whose arms were arg., a fess indented, gu., and
Sir John Savage used his own coat impaling Daniers and Chedel
quartered. Doth the Daniers and the Savages at the time of this
match were entitled to various quarterings of important families, and
amongst others, that of Walkinton, gu., a chevron between three
martlets, or ; for Sir John Savage, of Stainsby, the grandfather of
Sir John who married Daniers, married Alice, the heiress of that
family. The descendants dropped the Savage arms, and assumed

* Harl. MSS. 1093, f. 7 ; 1486, f. 10; and 5809. Topographer, vol. iii., p. 324.

f Eot. Chart. 1 John, pt. 2, No. 16 (when the Savages bore the name of Walkelin,
or Walkelin de Savage). Rot. Lit. Glaus. 16 John, pt. 3, No. 3 and 4 (Robert le
Savage held both Stainsby and Rowthorn); 4 Hen. III., No. 6. Inq. post Mort.
3 Edw. I., No. 13 ; 4 Edw. I., No. 16 ; 5 Edw. II., No. 48 ; 43 Edw. III., No. 2, 26.
Quo Warranto Rolls, 4 Edw. III. Abbrev. Rot. Orig., 44 Edw. III., No. 7, etc., etc.
Anyone consulting the Indexes to the numerous early folio publications of the Record
Commission with regard to the manor of Stainsby might be deceived, as several
entries are erroneously made under Notts, instead of Derbyshire.

HAULT HUCKNALL. 247

those of Daniers, as the more honourable. Sir John Savage, the
fourth in descent from the Daniers match, married Dorothy, daughter
and heiress of Sir Ralph Vernou, of Shipbrook, whose arms were,
or, onafess, az., three garbs, proper.* Their son, Sir John, married
Anne, daughter and heiress of Sir. Ealph Bostock. In one of the
Harleian manuscripts occurs the following note : — " In an old pedigree
which I have seen I find Sir John Savage, Knight of the Garter,
married Veruon, and Sir John his son, Knight of the Garter, slane at
Bollen (Boulogne) married Bostock — to beare these arms, and not
the lions, quartered, 1st and 4th, Savage, fusilly ; 2nd, Vernou ; 3rd,
Walkintou.t This, it will be noted, is precisely the coat described
in the Visitation, as being above the inscription mentioning Sir John
Savage and Elizabeth his wife. Sir John, who married Elizabeth,
and who erected the window in Hault Hucknall Church in 1527, was
the son of the previous Sir John by Anne Bostock. His wife Eliza-
beth was of Eoyal lineage, and hence the arms that even now remain
hi the window. Elizabeth was the daughter of Charles Somerset,
Earl of Worcester, and Herbert and Woodville were two of the
principal quarterings to which the Somersets were entitled, but it
would be needlessly straying from our subject to enter upon the
elaborate and noble genealogy of that family.

It was their son, Sir John Savage, who sold the estates at
Stainsbv.J He married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Manners,
Earl of Rutland, and died in 1597.

On the floor of the chancel, in front of the Communion rails, is a
slab of gritstone into which is let an oblong brass plate, with an in-
scription in raised letters. Above this is the matrix from which a
small brass figure has been at some time torn. The effigy must have
been twelve inches long by five-and-a-half in breadth. It is to the
memory of the vicar, Richard Pallison (or Pauson), whose name
formerly appeared on one of the windows. The following is a literal
copy of the inscription : — " Orate pro aia domini Ricardi Pallison
vicarii istius qui obiit die qua vocavit eu dus post anuu dm Milesimu
quingentesimu tricesimu sextimu Cujus aie ppicietur de A." It
seems from this singular way of stating the date of his death, which
we have not noticed elsewhere, that the vicar died on some day sub-

*Harl. MSS., 2094, ff. 40, 42, etc.
t Harl. MSS., 4031, f. 260 note.

J Further references to the family of Stainsby will be found under the Churches of
Sutton Scarsdale and North Wiufield. The manor also of Hardwick, in this parit-li ,
held by Savage in the thirteenth century.

248 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

sequent to the year 153G. If then we rightly interpret this brass, it
must have been laid down at a later date, when friends had forgotten
the precise time of his decease. The word "ecclesiffi" seems also to
have been omitted between "istius" and " qui." The word is sup-
plied in the Visitation of 1611, but the inscription, both there and in
Bassano's notes, is given most erroneously.

Close to this slab, forming another paver of the floor, is the old
altar stone, with the small incised crosses of consecration.

Of other details in the interior, it only remains to note that there is
a small recess or almery to the right hand at the east end of the south
chapel, and another in a similar position at the east end of the north
aisle, pointing in each case to side altars. Against the south wall,
too, of the chancel is a piscina without any supervening niche, simply
formed of what looks like the hollowed capital of a small Early
English pillar. The shaft through which the drain probably ran
has disappeared, and it now projects from the wall without any other
support.

A portion of the plaster, with which the walls are thickly covered,
has recently been removed from above the rounded arches on the
north side of the nave, and some remains of chocolate-coloured
diapered patterns exposed.

The tower contains a peal of five bells, which bear the following
inscriptions : —

I. " Jesus be our spede, 1590." The bell mark has the initials
H. 0., of Henry Oldfield, so common in Derbyshire.

II. " God save his church, 1615."

III. "D. Hedderly Founder," and below the haunch, the initials
D. H.

IV. " I.H.S. Nazarenus Hex Judreorum, 1664." The bell mark is
that of George Oldfield.

The Taxation Eoll of 1291, describes the Church of "Hokenhall"
as being worth £8 per annum ; and though not then apparently a
vicarage, a considerable portion of its tithes (£6 13s. 4d.) were even
then appropriated to the " Mon. de Novo Loco" (Newstead).

The Valor Ecclesiasticus, of 27 Henry VIII., speaks of the Prior of
Newstead as patron, and of " Dominus Eichardus Palsou " as vicar.
The endowments of the vicarage of Hault Hucknall at that date are
thus particularised : —

£ s. d.

In Mansione cum crofto et dnabus acris terre - - x

In decimis feni xxxiij iiij

In decimis lane et agnellorum xvj

In decimis minutis xxij

HAULT HUCKNALL. 249

£ B. A.

In oblationibus • ........... xiij iiij

In pascbali rofrulo ---- sxvj viij

In decimis molendini .-..---.. ij

Summa - - vj iij iiij
Unde resoluta Archidiacono Derbie pro senagio et procuragio - iij

De claro vj iiij

lu 1544 the impropriate rectorial tithes were granted to Francis
Leake, who held a large number of similar benefices. When this
church was visited by the Parliamentary Commissioners in 1650, they
reported that the vicarage was worth £29 10s. Od. per annum, and
that one Thomas Wilson was the incumbent, " a cavalier, drunkard,
and insufficient." The hamlet of Senor also provided 13s. 4d. in
vicarial tithes, but the Commissioners recommended that it should be
united to North Winfield.

I HE parish church of Heath, alias Lowne or Lund, was
given to the Abbey of Croxton at the time of its founda-
tion in 1162, and the great tithes continued to be ap-
propriated by that abbey until the time of the dissolution of the
mooasteries. Subsequently the advowson was given by Queen
Mary to the burgesses of Derby. The manor, also, of Heath was
ecclesiastical property, for it was bestowed by Eobert de Ferrers
on the monks of Gerendon, in Leicestershire. When the monks
were deprived of their property it was probably granted to the
family of Shrewsbury, for the Earl of Shrewsbury was possessed
of the manor of Heath in 1588.

The benefice of Heath was one of the numerous sinecures held
by Dr. Pegge, the Derbyshire antiquary, and he made the following
contribution to the history of the parish when Mr. Nichols was
compiling his records of Leicestershire : — *

Whittington, June 17th", 1793.

DEAR SIB, — The best account I can give you of my vicarage of Lowue, ulias
Heath, is as follows: — In Domesday-book it is called Lune; and in the Valor, 1291,
at Lichfield, Lound, from which last I presume Lowne may be a corruption. It
consisted formerly of two parts; hence in Domesday -we read "in Lune duabus
habet Stainulf," &c., that is in both Lunes, &c. Lowne and Heath are mentioned as
distinct places, fourteen of Elizabeth, when licence was granted to Gervase Nevill
to alienate the manor of Rowthorne and all the messuages in Eowthorne, Glapwell,
Heath, Lound, Harstofte aud Tibshelfe " to Robert Roakby and his heirs : and again,
fifteenth of Elizabeth, when James Hardwicke had licence to alienate the manor of
Eowthorne with its appurtenances in Hucknall, Heath, Lound and Tibshelfe" to
Nicholas Hardwicke. Hence we plainly see how the alias comes in. Lound is ex-
pressly called a church or rectory in the Valor of 1291 ; but had been before that
appropriated to the abbey of Croxton, co. Leicester, though I cannot tell when nor
by whom. The rectory continued with the abbey till the dissolution of that house
il-'ir>t Fruits' Office, 1535), but Queen Mary, Anno 1 granted the advowson to the
bailiffs and burgesses of Derby in these terms : " Advocatiouem, donationem liberam
dispositionem, aud jus patronatus vicarire ecclesiae de Lowue, alias diet Hethe," but
when it came out from them to the Cavendishes, who have it now, and have had it
fur many years, is to me unknown; but I should suppose by exchange, as an object
desirable to them, being so near to Hardwicke, and all the parish excepting two
farmes belonging to them. However, one of this family retaining the advowson,
returned the great tythes by giving them to the then vicar and his successors ; so
that Heath is now a rectory, or if you will, a vicarage endowed. If Lune of Domes-
day were out of the way, I have a conceit that Lound might be a corruption of Lond,
as if one of the diviMons of this parish might be Land or arable and the other
Brueria, or heath, and it is certain that at this day they will often call this place
The Heath. I am, Sir,

Your truly affectionate and obliged Servant,

SAMUEL PEGGE.

* Nichols' Leicestershire, vol. ii., pt. 1, p. 151, note. Pegge's Collections, vol v. p. 17-

254 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

To this it may be added that the Valor or Taxation Eoll of
1291, estimates the value of "Lund" church at £4 13s. 4d. The
Valor Ecdesiasticus of Henry VIII. gives full particulars respecting
the endowments of this vicarage, among which may be noticed
the very unusual feature of an augmentation of grain from the

greater tithes.

LOWNE ALIAS HEETH VICAEIA.
Abbas de Croxton Patronus.

Dominus Nicholaus Strilley vicarius ibidem in communibus aunis habet ut sequitur.

£ s. d.

In primis in Mansione iiij

Item in decimis feni _-_-.---- iij

Item in paschali rotulo ...-.---- xxiiij

Item in oblationibus .__.-.--- iiij viij

Item in decimis lane et agnellorum ------- vi viij

Item in decimis minutis et Mortuaries ------ \ij iiij

Item in augmentatione videlicet tria quarteria frumenti (wheat)
vj quarteria secalis (rye) sex modios ordei (barley) decem quar-
teria avene (oats) et quinque modios pisarum (pease) lix viij

Summa v ix iiij

Unde resoluta Archidiacono Derbie pro scenagio et procuragio - x vij

De claro iiij xviij v
Decima inde ix x ob'.

The Parliamentary Commissioners of 1650 valued the living at
£55 per annum. Mr. Thomas Keyes was then incumbent, and the
Commissioners, by way of an exception, abstained from expressing
any opinion as to his character.

There is no church mentioned at Heath at the time of the
Domesday Survey, and it was probably erected in the first instance
only a short period before the foundation of the Abbey of Croxton.
The old church was situated about a quarter of a mile east of the
present village of Heath, and it must have stood in solitary state
for many a long year before its demolition. But here, doubtless,
•was the village of Lowne or Lund, and it was not till the cultivation
of the moorland or heath commenced, that the houses gradually
climbed to the summit of the hill, and took to themselves the
name by which they are now almost invariably designated. This
church, dedicated like its successor in honour of All Saints, was
pulled down, with the exception of the porch, in 1852, and the
new one built in the midst of the village.

We have not succeeded in gaining any knowledge of the old
fabric prior to the year 1710, or thereabouts, when the church
was visited by Francis Bassano, the heraldic painter of Derby,
and from his manuscripts we extract the following notes, not hitherto
published, as illustrative of the condition of the building at that
date. " Over the porch door is a crucifix in stone. Within the

HEATH. 255

porch 011 the east side is Christ on the cross cut in stone. The
church was new seated in 1701. The pulpit, with canopy newly
rebuilt, to which charge the Vicar, Edward Revell, gave ten pounds.
Cut on one beam of the north aisle — 4 fusils in pale ; on another
beam — a porcupine. In a south window of the church is — 4 fusils,
gules, a crescaut. In a west window the monogram (B. M. inter-
laced) for beata Maria. Overhead out of the church into the
chancel — 4 fusils in pale — varry of 6 pieces — gules — lyon rampant
within border ingrailed, or, (impaling) aryent, a saltire ingrailed,
and upon a chief, azure, 3 cinque-foils, and over them an Earl's
coronet (Shrewsbury). Towards the south end of this line is another
impaled coat in colours — argent, 4 fusils in pale, gules ; impaling,
a chief varry and a bend.''

This information is chiefly heraldic, but fortunately there are two
sketches extant, one in water colours and the other in pen and
ink, of the old church. *

Both of these sketches give a south view of the church, the
one in water-colours containing more details, and from these it
appears that the old church consisted of a nave, chancel, north
aisle, tower at the west end, and south porch. The roof of the
nave was covered with lead and that of the chancel with stone.
There were two square-headed Perpendicular windows, lighting the
nave on the south side, and, from this and other details, it is
evident that the nave was extensively altered, and probably re-
roofed, at the end of the fifteenth or beginning of the sixteenth
century. A pointed window in the south wall of the chancel was
of the Decorated style prevailing in the early half of the fourteenth
century. The tower at the west end, adorned at the summit with
pinnacles of anything but a gothic design, was, we are told, rebtiilt
some fifty years before its final demolition, and its general appear-
ance in the sketches fully bears out such a supposition.f

The porch still stands in the old churchyard in its original posi-
tion, and out of the materials of the old building a small adjunct
has been erected, about twice the size of the porch, which is used
as a mortuary chapel. This chapel is lighted by a three-light
square-headed window at the north end, perhaps one of the windows

* These sketches are in the possession of the Kev. H. Cottingham, the Vicar of
Heath, and Hault Hucknall, to whose courtesy we are indebted for several particulars
relative to both these churches.

fThe Rev. J. Hunter, who visited this church about the commencement of the

E resent century, says — " The upper part of the steeple is made of wood, and has a
;aded spire like Chesterfield, but not very high. It appears very ancient." Hun-
ter's Collections, Add. MSS. '24,447, f. 24.

256 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

from the south side of the old nave. Built into the east wall is a
small stone, upon which is rudely chiselled the following inscrip-
tion : —

"John Hill,
Henery Bean,
Chorchwardens,
1622."

This must point to the date at which certain alterations, more
or less extensive, were made in the old fabric. Indeed, repairs and
alterations seem to have been frequent up to the time of its final
overthrow, for in 1846 the church of Heath is described as "recently
improved." * The roof of the mortuary chapel is evidently con-
structed of beams and rafters that were used in the old building,
and we think it most probable that they formed part of the roof
of the chancel To one of these beams a shield is affixed, partly
broken, and upside down, bearing three fusils in pale, and another
one has a unicorn's head erased carved in relief. The shield of three
or four fusils in pale, more correctly described as a pale fusilly, be-
longs to the family of Savage of Stainsby, and is to be noted cut
in stone, on the south aisle of North Winfield Church. This must
be the same shield noted by Bassano. The similar coat formerly
in the window, belonged also to the Stainsbys, having a crescent
for difference, to mark a younger branch of the family. The Savages
being for many centuries opulent lords of the adjacent manors of
Stainsby, Kowthorn, and Hardwick, were probably benefactors to
the Church, of Heath, and hence their arms within its precincts, t
A unicorn's head, erased, was the Savage crest, or rather the
Daniel crest adopted in the fourteenth century ; and the porcupine
noted by Bassano, was the crest of another of their alliances.^ The
impaled coat of Shrewsbury surmounted by an earl's coronet,
described by Bassano as being over the chancel arch, is still pre-
served at the vicarage. It represents the impalement of Shrews-
bury with Hardwick George Talbot, sixth Earl of Shrewsbury was
married to the celebrated " Bess of Hardwick " (her fourth hus-
band). She was the daughter and heir of John Hardwick. George
Talbot died in 1590.

Over the window of this building is another piece of wood carv-

* Bagshawe's Directory of Derbyshire, p. 649.

t See the account of tlie Sa
'orth Winfield.

JHarl. MS S. 2094, f. 40, etc.

t See the account of the Savage family, under Hault Hucknall, and also under
North Winfield.

if 'II

Mill

fM- -'.i

SLAB

HEATH

HEATH. 257

ing from the old church. Upon its surface is represented, com-
mencing from the right, an angel with open wings, holding an
uncharged shield — a winged heast with "a face as a man" — a quatre-
foil flower or rose— a winged lion— another angel with shield. This
is a portion we should suppose of the lower part of the old rood
screen, and when perfect would have also pourtrayed a winged ox,
and a winged eagle ; these being the four emblems of the evangel-
ists, taken from the Apocalyptic visions. The round stone font of
the former church has recently been placed in this chapel, but the
mouldings show it to be of post-Reformation date. The flooring is
chiefly composed of monumental stones, though there are no in-
scriptions that take us back further than the commencement of the
last century, but there is built into the west wall an oblong sepul-
chral slab of much interest. This incised slab, found, we believe,
wheu the old church was pulled down, is evidently as old as the
original foundation of the church, i. e., of the twelfth century. It
is difficult to describe it without an illustration, but \ve believe it
to be unique, or nearly so, of its kind, and we search in vain for
anything resembling it in the works of Cutts, Boutell, and others,
who treat of these early sepultures. We know of no other instance
of so early a date in which any attempt has been made to describe
the human figure on an incised sepulchral slab. A portion of the
top of the slab, with the summit of the central cross, seems to be
missing. Of this central cross the stem consists of two incised
lines lacking any base or " Calvary." The right and left arms of
this cross are circles containing a mullet or star of six points.
Below the one on the dexter side is another circle with a star of
four points. Below this again, the feet on a level with the base of
the cross, is a rudely conceived figure in a long dress with a
crowned head, holding a sceptre or staff surmounted by a cross.
On the sinister side of the central cross are two equally rude
figures facing each other, the one extending a bag or purse to the
further figure, whose head is either graced with a very aquiline
nose, or else is intended to be that of a bird. From between them
rises a Latin cross, at the top of which is incised a circle, divided
into quarterings, two of which might be described in heraldic
phraseology, that did not exist when this stone was carved, as
fretty, and the other two each contain three crosses. We hope by
this description to direct the attention of antiquaries to this stone,
and perchance obtain some reasonable solution of its meaning.
It now remains to notice the porch, which was not disturbed

258 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

from its old position when the nave, chancel, and tower, were all
removed in 1852. Over the entrance may still be noticed the small
stone crucifix, much defaced and worn, that attracted the attention
of Bassano in 1710. The pointed arch of the entrance, as is shown
by the mouldings of the capitals of the jambs, is of the Decorated
style, which places its date not later than the fourteenth century,
but the materials of the porch are of a conglomerate character,
and, perhaps it was put together as it now stands, in the Perpen-
dicular period, when the nave was re-modelled. Two battered heads
that have served as brackets or terminations to a drip-stone, pro-
ject one on each side of the entrance, and are as old or older than
the archway, whilst the crucifix, from its large hands and rude
construction, may be included with the remnants of Norman work.
The sides and jambs of the inner doorway that lead into the church
are composed of stones, one and all ornamented with the chevron
moulding peculiar to Norman art, though there is a considerable
dissimilarity in the pattern. These stones were not originally
carved for their present position, but have at one time formed a
portion of a round Norman arch of no little magnitude, similar to
that at the adjacent church of Hault Hucknall, and leading, pro-
bably, like that one, from the nave to the chancel. Against the east
side of the porch is built in the larger crucifix, also mentioned by
Bassano. The stone, upon which this figure is cut in strong relief,
tapers towards the feet, and is about four feet in height, by about
three feet in width across the arms. To assign a use or original
position for this stone is not a little difficult, for both its shape
and subject forbids us to entertain the idea of its having served as a
coffin lid, and its shape seems also to forbid the supposition that
it once formed the reredos of an early altar. We cannot help
thinking we have hit on the right conjecture in assigning it to the
position of keystone to the old archway leading into the chancel,
of which the stones with the chevron mouldings may have formed
component parts.

The three bells that were in the tower of the old church have
been removed to a similar position in its successor. They are in-
scribed as follows : —

I. "Anno Domini, 1847. God save His Church."

II. " Ihc. Gloria in excelsis Deo," round the haunch in Lorn-
bardic capitals. Beneath the " Ihc," is the founder's mark — G.H.,
with a fylfot cross below.

III. " God save His Church. 1704," in Eoman capitals, round
the haunch.

KiHaraarsIf,

|T the time of the taking of the Domesday Survey, there
appear to have been two manors at Killamarsh ( Chine -
wold Mar esc), one belonging to Ascoit Musard, and the
other to the King's Thanes. Of the succeeding owners of these
manors no consecutive account has been preserved ; but in the
reign of King John a manor was held in Killarnarsh by Philip
de Dovecote, and also in the following reign by Cecily Meynell.
There is also record of Hugh, the son of William de Kinwald-
niarsh, holding a manor here in the time of Edward II. Sub-
sequently there is no record extant of any other manor than
that which was held in the reign of Henry III. by the family
of Hathersage,* and which passed in moieties to their repre-
sentatives the Goushills and the Longfords. Nicholas, son and heir
of Sir Nicholas de Longford, Knight, held four messuages, forty
acres of land, ten acres of meadow, and forty shillings rent with
the appurtenances of the King in capite by the service of finding
a horse of the value of five shillings, a sack, and a pryk (or spur),
for the space of four days whenever it should happen that the
King's Army made war in Wales.t Ealph de Longford died seized
of a moiety of this manor in 1513, and Sir William HoUes died
seized of the other moiety in 1542.} There seems to have been
no church here at the time of the Domesday Survey, but one must
have been erected shortly afterwards. We may certainly conclude
that there was one when Philip de Dovecote held the manor.

* Calend. Rot. Chart. 33, Henry III. No. 1.

•fBlount's Antient Tenures (first edition) p. 17. Fines 1 Ric. II. The same
tenure prevailed at an earlier date than the instance quoted by Blouut. See Abbrev.
Rot. Orig. 33 Edw. I. No. 14, where the spur is rendered stimulo ; 30 Edw. III.
pryk ; 47 Edw. III. prik; etc., etc. See also Lysons' Derbyshire, p. 144, note, where
he says that it is elsewhere spelt brochea.

J We might have written many pages on the descent of the manor of Killamarsh,
embodying a good deal of matter that has not yet been published, but we thought it
better to abstain, as it has no immediate bearing on the history of the church.

262 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Killamarsh was formerly but a parochial chapelry of Eckingtoii,
and the living was annexed to the rectory of the mother church
until 1843, when by an Order of Council, dated June 10th, in pur-
suance of the plans of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, it was
declared to be an independent rectory. The Taxation Boll of 1291
only takes account of Killamarsh under the humble title of Ecking-
toii cum membro, nor has the Valor Ecclesiat-ticus any distinctive
notice. The Parliamentary Commission of 1650, reported that
Killamarsh was a parochial chapelry worth £50 a year, and that
it ought to be united with the hamlet of Spinkhill, worth £10, and
made an independent parish church.

The church, dedicated to St. Giles, consists of nave, chancel,
south porch, and embattled tower. The porch is entered by a
rounded wooden doorway, but the doorway into the chancel itself
is a good specimen of Norman work, and is ornamented with a
double row of chevron mouldings. The jambs are worked into
semi-detached pillars or shafts, whose capitals are carved with clearly
cut foliage. The nave is a plain building, unlighted on the north
side, and having windows of the Perpendicular period on the south
side. The roof possesses some features of interest. Judging from
the mouldings we should date it circa 1450; It is a pointed roof
supported by six tie-beams, the bosses in the centre of which are
handsomely carved. The wall plates are embattled and further
adorned with four-leaf flowers, with which also the struts are orna-
mented. Similar carving may be noticed on the roof of the porch.
Large stone corbels project some distance from the wall, but are
of no actual use, as the tie-beams rest immediately on the wall
itself. The chancel is a modern erection in the Decorated style,
with a high pitched roof, having been built by the rector shortly
after its separation from Eckiugton. It is completely out of har-
mony with the rest of the church. In a small window in the south
wall of the chancel is some fine old glass representing the Virgin
and Child. The figure is about two feet six inches high, and
appears crowned, holding a sceptre in the right hand. The Infant
holds a lock of her hair in both his hands. On a scroll which
runs across the figure is inscribed " Sancta Maria." We were
told that this glass was formerly in the east window of the old
chancel, but this is not likely to have been the case, as it was in
a south window of the chancel when Bassano visited the church
about 1710. In the east window of the chancel there was then a
shield bearing az., 3 mullets of 6 points, or. This was a coat at

KILLAMARSH. 263

erne time borne by Whittington, of the adjacent manor of
tiugton.

In the window of the nave nearest the porch there are several
diamond-shaped quarries of old glass, in yellow and white, bearing
trefoils, fleur-de-lis, &c.

At the time of the rebuilding of the chancel two old monu-
mental slabs came to light, which are now preserved by being
built into the wall of the vestry on each side of the fire-place.
They are neither of them quite perfect, and are about four feet in
length by fifteen inches at the top. The floriated cross at the head
is similar in design in each of them, and is thrown into relief by
cutting away the remaining part of the stone within the circle to
the depth of about half-an-inch. The stem of the cross merely
consists of incised lines. One of these slabs has the symbol of
the shears inscribed on the sinister side of the cross, and the
other one has a broad-headed axe laid across it. The former sym-
bol has already been discussed in these pages, and it is usual to
attribute the latter memorial to the grave of the village carpenter.
This is done by Bateman in his Vestiges of the Antiquities of Derby-
shire, in describing a somewhat similar slab among the interesting
collection of these memorials at Chelmorton ; but there can be little
doubt that these slabs marked the resting place of men of more
importance than a mere woodman or carpenter. It is more natural
to suppose that it represents the weapon of a man-at-arms or a
knight. There is another instance of this kind among the Bake-
well slabs, and a knight using an axe precisely similar in shape
occurs in the Komaunt d'Alexandre (1344). * There are also
several like instances among the figures of the celebrated Bayeux
tapestry. On the west side of the porch, part of the stone bench
appears to be formed, judging from the moulded edge, of a frag-
ment of an old stone coffin lid ; and also a portion of the step
out of the porch. The date of the slabs in the vestry cannot well
be put later than the thirteenth, and may possibly pertain to the
twelfth century.

The font is modern, and there are no details of much interest
in the church, though perhaps a word might be said of the un-
usually early bequests inscribed on the Parish Charity Board which
is affixed to the walls. The earliest is that of William Hewitt,
cutler, who left in 1480 a rent charge of 15s. yearly out of the

* Cutts' Manual of Sepulchral Slabs, pp. 43, 60. Boutell's Christian Monuments,
p. 99.

264 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Town Close. Then comes William Hewitt, 1599, clothworker in
London, who left £5 4s. yearly out of land in Cawthorne, York-
shire ; this money to be given to 24 poor people at Id. per Sun-
day. There are numerous other bequests of the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries.

A west gallery blocks up the archway into the tower and hides
the west window. The tower is a fair specimen of the Perpendi-
cular style, with good bell-chamber windows. The parapet is em-
battled, and has four crocketed pinnacles at the angles. Two
gurgoyles project from the summit, one on the south side repre-
senting a muzzled bear, a device which also occurs in a similar
position on the church at Wingerworth.

Against the south wall of the church, on the outside, is a modern
slab, the inscription of which is now almost illegible, but is per-
haps worth preserving. It is thus given in Lysons : — " To the
memory of John Wright, a pauper of this parish, who died May
4th, 1797, in the hundred and third year of his age. He was of
middle size, temperate, and cheerful, and in the trying situation
of darkness, poverty, and old age, bore his infirmities with such
Christian meekness as excited the benevolence of good men, and
is here recorded as an instructive lesson to others, Eev. C. Alder-
son, B.C., P.P.P., Anno Dni 1797."

Part of the shaft of the old cross is still upright in the church-
yard, standing on two steps, reaching an altitude of five feet.
Bassano describes this as "a large plain cross in a footing of
three stepps."

This church was in a very dilapidated state in the early part of
the seventeenth century, but was begun to be put into good repair
in the 14th of Charles II., as Bassauo tells us, and he further
adds that, at the time of his visit, "the south side was well repaired,
and the remainder will be presently."

The tower contains a peal of six bells, presented by the rector
at the time of the restoration of the chancel.

ILangfoifl},

|HE Domesday Survey is silent as to Langwith, but there
is a record extant of a church in the village of Langwith
as early as the reign of Henry II. (1154-1169), when
Ralph Deincourt gave the advowson, together with that of the
adjacent church of Elmtou, to the newly-founded priory of Thur-
garton, in Nottinghamshire.*

The manor of Langwith acquired the name of Langwith-Bassett,
by which term it is even now sometimes designated, early in the four-
teenth century, when it was held by a family of that name.f Alice,
the widow of Ralph Bassett, was seized of it in the reign of Henry
IV.J It is also termed Over Langwith, and Upper Langwith, in
order to distinguish it from the adjacent parish of the same name
in Nottinghamshire.

The advowson of this rectory could not have been a very valuable
piece of preferment, for in the Taxation Roll of 1291 the church of
Langwith is entered as paying to the Prior of Thurgarton 13s. 4d.
a year, and no other value attached ; in another copy of this return
it is described as " indecimabilib," i.e., titheless, or tithe free. The
following is the entry relative to Langwith in the Valor Ecclesiastic us
of 27 Henry VIII. :—

LANGWITH RECTORIA.
Prior de Thurgreton Patronus ibidem.

Dominus Nicholaus Wylde rector ibidem habet in communibus annis ut Requitur.
In mansipne cum glebis ----------xij viij

In decimis garbarum et feni ---------xl

In decimis lane et agnellorum --------- xiij iiij

In paschali rotulo ----------- xiij iiij

In oblationibus ----------- v viij

In decimis minutis ----------- ij

In mortuariis communibus annis --------iij iiij

Summa - - vjmarc' xs. viij<£.
Unde resoluta archidiacono Derbie pro scenagio et procuragio - - x vij

De Claro - - - vj marc' j
Decima inde - - viij

* Thoroton's Nottinghamshire, p. 110.
t Quo Warranto Rolls, 4 Edward m.
£ Inq. post Mort. 14 Hen. IV., No. 5.

268 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

The Parliamentary Commissioners in 1650 reported that the living
of Langwith was worth .£34 per annum, and " fitt to be united
to Scarcliffe, and also that part of Houghton which is a member
of Plesley. One James Trotton is present incumbent, scandalous
and disaffected."

The manor of Langwith also contributed to the emoluments of
other ecclesiastical foundations besides that of Thurgartoii. In the
reign of Henry III., Henry de Lessinton, Dean of Lincoln, had
the right of free warren over this manor, as well as over the adja-
cent ones of Scarcliffe and Patterton ;* and in the time of Henry VI.
the Prior of Newstead held two messuages, two tofts, two bovates,
one hundred and sixty acres of arable land, and five of meadow
within the lordships of " Langwath, Milnhous, Patterton, Bowe-
thorn et Bateley."t

The present church, dedicated to St. Helena,:}: is a small build-
ing, consisting only of a nave, chancel, and south porch, with a
small tower or rather bell turret at the west end, but it contains
specimens of the four different styles into which English church
architecture is usually divided.

The plain round archway into the chancel is of the early Nor-
man period, and shows, we should suppose, that a church existed
here some years previous to the reign of Henry II. There is
another archway almost precisely similar at the west end, from
which we may conclude that a west tower was part of the original
Norman design — this archway opening into it.

The chancel, from the two lancet windows in the south wall,
appears to have been rebuilt in the Early English period during
the thirteenth century, but the east window, as well as one of
similar size and design on the south wall of the nave, are some-
what later, being plain examples in the early Decorated style. To
this period (circa 1320) we are inclined, too, to attribute the high-
pitched oaken roof which is in fair preservation. It is supported
by two tie-beams, the king-post and side struts being carved into
a bold tracery. The corbel terminations of the wall plates are

* Calend. Rot. Chart. 36 Hen. III.
t Inq. post Mort. 20 Hen. VI., No. 38.

I Certain modern directories ascribe it to the Holy Cross, and the feast of this
parish is regulated by the date of that festival (September 14th). The Empress
Helena is said to have found the true cross on May the 3rd, 326. She erected a
church at Jerusalem to contain this relic, which was consecrated September the
13th, 335, and the first exposition of the cross occurred on the following day, being
Sunday. The custom was continued annually, and the festival has been observed
on this day, ever since, both by the Greek and Latin churches. This explains the
apparent discrepancy in the dedication and the feast day.

LANGWITH. 269

ornamented with quatrefoils. The porch, also, seems to be of
this date. It has a pointed stone roof, and is adorned with two
crocketed pinnacles. Over the entrance is a small opening now
glazed, hut it has probably once served as a niche for the figure
of St. Helena.

A three-light square-headed window, on the south of the nave,
gives evidence that this church was further restored or repaired
when the Perpendicular style was in vogue. It would be at that
time, too, that the present west end to the church was built, which
is surmounted by a small square tower. The battlements and
pinnacles seem to be comparatively modern. It contains two
small bells, both of which bear the name of Hedderley, the Not-
tingham bell-founder, and the date 1772.

The interior affords one object of much interest. In the south
wall of the chancel is a recess, occupied by a coffin- shaped incised
slab, six feet long by two broad at the upper end. The head of
the cross is richly foliated, and the stem, formed of two incised
lines is unusually slender, being less than one inch in width. On
the dexter side is engraved a chalice, and on the sinister an open
book. There is no inscription, but its date must be about the
commencement of the thirteenth century. From the chalice it
may be inferred that it commemorates an ecclesiastic. The occur-
rence of the two symbols — the chalice and the book on the same
stone — is unusual, though one instance of much later date is to
be seen at Chellaston in this county, and another was formerly to
be seen within the altar rails at Pleasley. The assumption has
been drawn that, where they both occur together, the interment
of a deacon is commemorated, but a closer examination of the
different examples precludes the certainty of this explanation, for
an instance is known where they are represented on each side of
a priest in eucharistic vestments.* Nor is it likely that this exam-
ple is the tomb of a deacon, for, from its position in the wall, it
is clear that it is to the memory of a founder or benefactor of
the church. The foot of this slab is concealed by one end of a
pointed arch which rests upon it. This archway, which rises to
some height in the south wall, and which encloses that part of
the wall pierced by the smallest of the lancet windows already
mentioned, can hardly have been inserted in this strange position
for any other purpose than that of giving additional strength to

*BoutelTs Christian Monuments, p. 57; Cutts' Incised Slabs, p. 86, plates v., ix.,
xii., xxiii., and xliii.

270 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

a weakened part of the edifice, for it seems impossible to imagine
that it could ever, in this position, have been opened out.

Bassano visited this church, which he terms Langwith Bassett,
about 1710, but the only object he notes is the incised slab in
the chancel. He thus describes it: — "Near to the altar, adjacent
to south window, is a monument raised about three feet. The
face flourished, and a bowle or chalice only upon it, -which may
denote the sepulture of a Priest."

At the east end of the south side of the nave is a plain square
recess over a piscina, an indication of the former presence of a
side-altar.

The font at the west end is a modern one, but a loose semicir-
cular stone at its base, which may have formed part of a step to
the former one, has originally served as a sepulchral memorial,
for it bears on it the pedimental base of an incised cross, techni-
cally called the " calvary."

fiorfon*

•(IBrarfcpnfipltb.

orfon.

jS Morton is cue of the Derbyshire parishes mentioned in the
Domesday Survey as possessed of a church arid a priest, it
is rather disappointing to find so little of interest or an-
tiquity connected with the present building. The first mention of
Morton occurs in the will of Wulfric Spott, dated in the year 1002,
by which the Abbey of Burton was endowed. Morton and the ad-
jacent manor of Ogstou (Oggodestun) were both bequeathed to the
abbey. At the time, however, of the Domesday Survey (1087) they
were held by Walter Deincourt.* Morton was held by the Dein-
courts till 1442, when the Deincourt property, on the failure of male
issue, passed by marriage to Cromwell and Lovell ; and this manor
eventually came, with Button and other estates, into the hands of
the Leakes, in which family it continued until the death in 1736 of
Nicholas Leake, Earl of Scarsdale. The advowson of the church of
Morton remained during this period in the hands of the owner of the
manor. The body of the church was entirely rebuilt in 1850, and it
contains no monuments, or other objects of interest, of any antiquity.
Nor need we have much fear that any interesting details have of late
been lost, for not only does Lysons, writing in 1817, say of Morton,
" the parish church contains nothing remarkable," but the earlier
manuscript collections are equally silent. Dr. Pegge, however, who
visited the church in 1766, gives us a few particulars relative to the
old structure. He noted a north aisle to the church, and thought
that appearances pointed to there formerly having been one also on
the south side; adding — "Under the east window of the north aisle
there is an appearance of an altar tomb, but so covered I could not
be certain." He also copied the following from a brass in the
chancel : —

* For a further account of the Deincourt family, bee under North Winfield. The
chief seat of this important family was for several generations at Park Hall, on the
confines of this parish. The parish of Morton was, however, held in moieties during
part of the time when it was under the Deincourt sway, for in the reign of Henry
1\. Nicholas de Longford was seized of a part of the manor.— Inq. post Mort., 3
Hen. IV., No. 32.

274 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

" Here lietli the body of the virtuous and religious matron, Mar-
gery, wife of Edward Nickson, pastor of this parish,

" Quarn pie obiit ( salutis 1566

Die 11 Augusti anu° t ffitatis 43.
" Thy rest gives me a restless life,
Because thou wast a virtuous wife,
But yet I rest in hope to see
That day of Christ and then see thee.

" E. N. Maritus maestissimus.''*

In copying this a mistake of a century has clearly been made in
the year of her decease, for Mr. Edward Nicksou held the living of
Morton at the time of the Parliamentary Survey in 1650. Of Morton
the Commissioners then reported, that they thought it " fitt to be
united to Shirlaiid, being within a myle distant." Morton itself was
then valued at £34, but the rectory, inclusive of Trinity Chapel, was
worth £70.

The Taxation Roll of Pope Nicholas IV. (1291), values the church
of Morton at £5 13s. 4d.

When the Valor Ecdesiasticus was compiled, 27 Henry VIII., the
following particulars are recorded respecting this benefice : —

MOKTON RECTORIA..

Radulplms Longford Miles et Johannes Bushie Armiger alterius vicibus patroni

ibidem. -(•

Dominus Robertus Siiape rector ibidem habet in communibus annis ut sequitur.

£ s. d.

In primis in Maiisione cum glebis xl

Item in decimis garbarum et feni de Morton .... xlvij

Item in decimis garbarum de Brakenfeld Oggneston et "Woolley - iij vj viij

Item in duobus messuagus in North wynfeld ----- vj viij

Item in paschali rotulo - xl

Item in oblationibus per annum- - xj viij

Item in decimis lane et agnellorum ------- xx

Item in decimis minutis .-.. vij iiij

Item in mortuariis - xx

Summa - - - xij xij

DEDUCTIONS S.
Unde resoluta Archidiacono Derbie pro scenagio et procuragia

aunuatim -..----.--- xj j

De claro xj ix xj

Decima inde - - xxiij

* Pegge's Collections, vol. v., p. 37. This brass is now in the vestry, where there is
also one to a daughter of Ralph Heathcote. Dr. Pegge, in another part of his Collec-
tions, mentions that it was commonly reported that Morton used to be the mother
church to Shirland, "and when old Sleigh visited Mr. Heathcote (the rector of Morton)
and would drink heartily, he used to say he came to suck his mother's milk. Sleigh
never had any University education, but was parish schoolmaster at Chesterfield, and
when Mr. Foolow left the Chapel School (the Grammar School), he supplied a while
there till the new master came."

f Ralph Longford and John Bushie were also joint patrons of North Winfi eld.
They were also commemorated at CuejierSeld. — Saa ante page 157.

MORTON. 275

Of the two messuages mentioned above in the parish of North
AYvnfeld, the Parliamentary Commissioners wrote : — "There are two
farms in North Wiufeild towne, belonging to William Beardall and
James Peudleton being formerly for the parish of Moreton and
thought fitt to be united to North Wiufeild. with tythes issuing, and
certain tythes held by parishioners of Moretou are thought fitt to be
paid to Sheiiaud."

The uncertain boundaries of the ecclesiastical divisions in the ad-
jacent parishes of North Winfield and Morton, gave rise to several
disputes respecting their tithes. In one of the old register books of
North Winfield is a copy of the following agreement : — *

" The Art. of agreement between William Barton minister of Northwingfield and
Edmund Wirkson minister of Morton in the county of Derby as followeth — Whereas
sundry grounds lying within a certain circuit called the double ditch one halfe within
the parish of N. W. and halfe within the parish of M. and the tyth corn hay
hemp and flax are under tyth that is to say are equally to be divided between the
respective parsons of the said parishes : It is hereby covenanted and agreed between
the persons above named that all the grounds lying on the north side Padley Wood
within the said double ditch shall pay the whole tyth of corn hay hemp and flax to
Mr. Barton and all the grounds lying on the south side the said wood shall pay the
•whole tyth of corn hay hemp and flax to Mr. Wirkson during the natural lives of the
said persons. 14th July 1653."

The tower at the west end is all that remains of the old buildings.
It is a low embattled tower, with eight crocketed pinnacles, and may
be considered as a fair example of the late Perpendicular style, pre-
valent at the end of the fifteenth, or early in the sixteenth century.
It is supported by diagonally- placed buttresses. The tracery of the
west window is of a debased style, and it appears as if the base of the
mullious had belonged to the tracery with which it was originally
filled. There is a curious architectural freak in the doorway below
this window, for the moulding of the jambs or sides of this doorway
stops abruptly some two feet short of the ground.

The bell-chamber contains three bells, one of which bears the
simple inscription, " God save His Church ; " the second only the
date " 1631," whilst the third (which is badly cracked) has a Lom-
bardic S alternating with an equal-limbed cross repeated five times
round the haunch. The third bell also bears a bell-founder's mark,
from which we can arrive at its approximate date. We have met with
a similar device at Chaddesden, Mugginton, Dronfield, Kniveton, and
several other places in this county, and it is not uncommon in
Nottinghamshire. The device is a shield charged in the centre with a
cross, the base of which is forked and surrounded by a circle. On

* This agreement was published with various other matters taken from the North
Winfield registers, in an article we contributed to the Reliquary, July, 1872.

276 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

the dexter Ride of the cross is the letter R, and on the sinister side is
a bell, and in chief are two crowns, supposed from a similar blazoning
on the municipal shield, to represent the town of Nottingham. This
bell-mark is attributed to Richard Mellour, an opulent bell-founder of
Nottingham. He was mayor of that town in 1506, and died a few
years afterwards. His wife, Dame Agues Mellour, founded the
Nottingham Free School.

The church of Morton is dedicated to the Holy Cross, in which
name there are fifty-nine of our old dedications, and fourteen
under the synonymous phrase of the Holy Rood.

In the report of the Charity Commissioners (1827) mention is
made of an annual sum of 6s. 8d., supposed to have been given
for the repairs of Morton Church, still received by the churchwar-
dens, but the origin of which is not known.

BRACK OKI ELD. 277

of Bracfcenfidtr.

|E read of Brackenfield in the days of King John, when
that manor and Ogstou were held hy the family of Heriz.
Brackenfield was at that time known as Bracken£/t«?ai>.
The termination thwaite, which has also died out in more than one
other Derbyshire place-name of this locality, is of no small interest, as
it tends to prove the existence, in this county, of a small colony of
Norsemen or Norwegians, as distinct from the general incursion of
the Danes. It continued in the family of Heriz, till the beginning
of the reign of Edward III., hut shortly afterwards passed to the
Willoughbys, with whom it continued for many generations." In
1369 Sir Richard "Willoughby held Brackenfield under the Dein-
courts ; and about this time also Ogstou became the property of
the Revels, with whom it remained till the commencement of the
last century, when it was brought by marriage into the hands of
the Turbutt family, who now own the two manors. Sir Richard
Willoughby was one of the justices of the Common Pleas in the
reign of Edward III., and some tune Chief Justice of the King's
Bench. He acquired the Derbyshire estate of Kisley by marriage
•with the heiress of Morteyne. Brackenfield was a township in
Morton parish, and a short distance out of the village was the
ancient chapel of ease — Trinity Chapel. This chapel was formerly
only served four or five times in the year, by the rector of Morton,
but having been augmented by Queen Anne's Bounty, it became a
separate benefice more than one hundred years ago. It was
severed by a deed of 1758 between Bishop Cornwallis and Ralph
Heathcote, rector of Morton, and Thomas Hinckman, curate. On
December llth, 1758, it was augmented with £200 by Queen Anne's
Bounty, and then the service was to be every third Sunday. It
was further augmented with another £200, in June of the following

* Inq. post Mort. 3 Edw. III., No. 57 ; 13 Henry VI., No. 2f..

278 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

year.* Brackenfield has now been for some years a distinct parish,
and a new clmrch was built in the year 1856, since which time
Trinity Chapel has remained in a desolate and deserted condition.
It is rather singular that a recommendation to build a new
church here was made two centuries ago by the Parliamentary
Commissioners. They report — " Trinitye chapell with Brackenfield,
Ogston, and Wolley, members of the parish of Morton, wee think
fitte to be made a parish, and that there be a church built in some
convenient place in Brackenfield Green." It is a small plain build-
ing, roofed with stone, and having an open bell turret for two bells
on the west gable. The east gable is surmounted by a cross, but
it is of modern device. Its internal dimensions are about 38 feet
by 16, and ten feet of its length are partitioned off to form a chan-
cel. It is built upon the steep slope of a hill, and the floor is far
from level, as it steadily slopes down to the east end. The roof is
of a high pitch and supported by four slightly curved tie-beams.
All the windows are square-headed and divided by straight stone
mullions without any tracery. The east window has four lights,
one in the south wall of the chancel three, another on the south
side two, a high one at the west end, and the one on the north
side have also two apiece ; of these all but the two first are now
blocked up. There is a plain porch on the south side, provided
with stone seats, and both the doorway of the porch and that
leading into the chapel are square-headed. The walls and general
features of the building are still in good repair, the outer masonry
being large and carefully hewn, and its appearance points to a
thorough, and probably complete renewal in the sixteenth century.
The interior fittings, which have not been removed, have naturally
suffered much from disuse. Rows of plain solid oak benches occupy
the nave, and the chancel contains three pews on each side, all
being in a greater or less state of dilapidation. In the wall under
the south window of the chancel, about a foot from the ground, is
a square recess or alrnery ; whilst at the east end, on the northern
side of the window is a large oblong recess some four feet from the

* Pegge's Collections, vol. 5, p. 29.

Mr. Richard Turbutt writes to Mr. Lysons, in March, 1816: — "Formerly the
rector of Morton had the cure of the two churches (Morton, and Trinity Chapel,
Brackenfield), and service was performed only four times in a year at the chapel.
But it has at different times received the Queen's Bounty from Sir Robert Willmott,
of Chadesden's family and mine, by which it has become a separate benefice. The
rector has always nominated. I exercised that right the other day, and the bishop
approved, but from what Sir Robert Willmotfc says. I think he questions my right
.... No rites of marriage or burial are ever performed there, baptisms sometimes,
but at the discretion of the minister. The Registers are kept at Morton." — Lysons,'
Correspondence, Add. MSS., 9425, fol. 247.

BRACKENFIELD. 279

ground, the lower part of which is filled up with a corbel stone or
bracket This probably was the niche for some small figure or
image, or it may have served as the credence table. The font,
which stands near the entrance, is, as might be expected, a modern
contrivance of stone on a fluted column ; for Trinity Chapel, so
long as it was merely a chapel of ease to Morton, possessed neither
the right of baptism or sepulture.

The most interesting feature of this chapel is the old screen,
that divides the chancel from the rest of the building. This screen
is of oak throughout, with a doorway in the centre, and divided on
each side into six pointed lights or openings, the upper part being
filled with open tracery. The screen is of the Perpendicular period
and, apparently, not late in the style. On the spandril of the
doorway facing west are two escutcheons carved in the wood, but
they are, like the rest of the screen, much worn and the worse for
age. They are now destitute of any colouring.

The dexter shield bears on two bars three water bougets, impal-
ing a cross moline. The sinister shield has the same coat, impal-
ing on a bend three mullets. The arms of Willoughby of Risley,
with the proper tinctures, are : Or, on two bars yules, three water
bougets, argent ; and we might naturally expect to find them in this
position. The coat impaled with Willoughby on the first shield is
that of Beck of Pleasley, whose arms were yules, a cross moliue,
anjcnt ; for the nieces and co-heiresses of Anthony Beck, married
Harcourt and Willoughby. Anthony Beck was the most celebrated
Bishop that ever occupied the episcopal chair of Durham, and was
specially honoured by the Pope with the empty but coveted title of
Patriarch of Jerusalem. Anthony Beck died on 3rd March, 1311,
though Lysons in his History qt Derbyshire makes the strange mis-
take of giving the year of his decease in 1340. One of Bishop
Beck's executors was "Robert de Willughby, chevaler ; " and
Thomas de Willoughby was appointed collector of his debts.*

The arms impaled by Willoughby on the sinister shield are those
of Bradborue. Thomas Willoughby, the son of Hugh Willoughby,
by his wife Anne, daughter of Richard Wentworth, married Isabel,
daughter of John Bradborne, of Hough (or Hulland) near Ashborne.
The Bradbornes were an ancient family of Derbyshire, and con-
nected from time to time with the most influential of the county
families. Isabel was the daughter of John Bradborne, by his wife
Anna Vernon, and was one of fiv;- s;-r ITS who married respectively,

* Begittrnm Palatinum Dunelmense. See alho notice of Pleasley Church.

280 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Fitzherbert, Columbell, Langford, Willoughby, aud Okeovcr. We
read of this Thomas Willoughby in the 38th year of Henry VI.,
and the 4th of Edward IV.* There can be no doubt that this
screen was erected at the time of, or shortly after the marriage of
Thomas and Isabel, which places its date about the middle of the
fifteenth century. The screen is, then, older than any of the pre-
sent structure (though possibly not the actual masonry) of the
chapel, and it is very unfortunate that it should be thus suffered
to fall into decay. Could it not find a resting-place in the new
church at Brackenfield '? Unless it is removed, or the windows of
the old chapel re-glazed, it will not be many years before it has
quite crumbled away. A portion of the open-work tracery is even
now missing.

The foundations at the east end of the chapel project some way
beyond the present walls, and apparently point to the greater
length of its predecessor on the same site.

The will of Hugh Bevel, of Shirland, dated May, 1504, men-
tions the following item : — " Also I will that the Trinitie chapel
have my chalez, the which is now in their possession, for ever." f

We must not omit to mention that an early number of the
Reliquary contained a brief description of this chapel, from the pen
of the late Mr. Gladwin Turbutt. The article is illustrated by a
good engraving of parts of the old screen, and also of a carved
shield from the end of one of the pews, on which were the impaled
coats of Willoughby and Beck. Mr. Turbutt mentions a legend,
current in the neighbourhood, that the two bells of this chapel
were stolen by Oliver Cromwell \

*Harl. MSS. 1098, fol. 133.
tAdd. MSS.6667, fol. 64.

]HE manor of South Normanton, at the time of the Domes-
day Survey, was held by Edwin under William Peverel.
At an early period it belonged to the family of De Alfreton,
by whom it was granted, together with the adjacent manor of
Pinxton, to Ralph le Poer. The heiress of Poer brought it to Le
Wyiie. In the time of Edward II. (1307-1326) Eobert le Wyne
held Normanton and Pinxton of Grey, and Grey of the king.
William le Wyne, in the year 1342, sold the manors of Nor-
manton and Piuxton, together with the advowsons of both the
churches, to Sir Alured de Solney, of Newton Solney in the
pari*h of Repton, for two hundred marks of silver. There is a
deed extant, early in the reign of Richard II. (1377-1399), by which
William Taillo and Adam Torald de Newton Solney, Capellauus,
yield to John Bollowe, parson of Sheyle, Robert de Langham, and
Lawrence de Frodleye, the manors of Pinxton and Norrnantori,
with the advowson of Pinxton, the advowson of Normanton being
specially excepted. In the 14th year of the same reign, Thomas
Foljanibe and Robert Langham release Pinxtou and Normanton
(excepting the advowson of the latter) to Thomas Stafford and
Alice his wife, and to Nicholas Longford and Margaret his wife.
These two last deeds seem to show that the property was held
in trust during the minority of the two heiresses of Solney, or
else for a time leased out of the family. Sir Thomas Stafford
and Sir Nicholas Longford, by their marriage with Alice and Mar-
garet, the co -heiresses of Solney, inherited the manor of Norman-
ton in moieties. The Staffords speedily sold their moiety to Sir
William Babiugton of Chilwell, and thence it descended through
the Sheffields, and was sold to George Revel, of Carlingthwaite
Hall, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. The Longfords' share of
the manor was purchased in 1567 by the immediate ancestors of
D'Ewes Coke.

284 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

The exact descent of the advowson of Normanton Eectory after
it left the Solneys cannot be traced, but in the 6 Henry IV. it
was made over to Robert de Legh (or Leigh), Knight, and in the
11 Henry VI. " Eobert de Legh de Adelyngton" sold it to Sir
"William Babiugton. Thus both the moiety of the manor and the
advowson were again held by the same person. Sir William Bab-
ington died seized of the advowson, 33 Henry VI., when it seems
to have reverted to Leigh. The presentation was again sold in
the reign of James I. by Sir Bryan Leigh, and passed through the
Revels to the Eardley Wilniots.*

Though no church is mentioned here in the Domesday Survey,
the building itself proves that one was erected in the days of the
Normans. The earliest allusion to a church in this parish that
we have met with is a reference to "Adam Capellanus de Nor-
manton " in the year 1220, which Dr. Pegge attributes to South
Normanton.t

In the Taxation Roll of Pope Nicholas (1291) this church (North-
munton) is valued at £6 13s. 4d. per annum. According to the
Valor Ecdesiasticus, 27 Henry VIII., the rectory, after deducting
the archidiaconal fees, was worth £9 los. 4d. At that time " Sir
William Lee de Adlyngton " was patron, and Milo Hudleston the
rector. The Parliamentary Commissioners of 1650 estimated it at
£40, and further add — " Mr. Peeter Poste is present incumbent and
reputed scandalous."

The church is dedicated to St. Mary,J and consists of a nave,
chancel, north aisle, south porch, and an embattled tower at the
west end. The old doorway on the south side, with its semi-circular
arch, is all that now exists to prove that a church existed here
during the time when the Norman style of architecture prevailed.
The porch itself is of the Decorated period, and dates from the
fourteenth century. It is of a good size, but the jambs at the
entrance are much worn and out of the perpendicular, whilst the
courses of the stone show that it has been raised and otherwise
altered from its original design. On entering the church we find
that the three pointed archways supported by two octagon pillars
with plain capitals, which separate the north aisle from the nave,

*Dodsworth's Collections. Add. MSS. 6667, ff. 54-115. Nichols' Collectanea,
vol. L, p. 343; vol. viii., p. 318. Calend. Eot. Chart. 41 Edw. IV., No. 3. Inq. post
Mort. 33 Hen. VI., No. 23.

fPegge's Collections, vol. v., p. 18. He neglects to mention from whence the
quotation is taken.

I Certain modern directories, with their usual perversity, ascribe the church to
St. Michael, but we are not aware of the slightest foundation for this assertion.

SOUTH NOKMANTON. 285

are of the same period. Several corbel stones, too, project from
the walls both in the nave and aisle a little below the present roof,
showing from whence the former high-pitched roof sprung. From
this, and other indications, we may gather that the greater part,
if not the whole, of the church was re-built when the Decorated
style was prevalent, probably in the reign of Edward II.

Since that date the church has undergone many alterations. The
windows appear to have been mostly inserted in the Perpendicular
period, though, with the exception of the west window of the aisle,
and one in the south wall of the chancel, there do not appear to
be any which have escaped further alteration or debasement. The
pointed east window is divided into three by two straight niullions
which run up the entire height, whilst one on the south side is
half filled up with naked bricks. The tower, however, is a good
specimen of the Perpendicular. It is supported on the west by
two diagonally-placed buttresses, which are ornamented on the second
set-off with small upright shields. This peculiarity, together with
its general similarity of feature, points to the same architect who
built the tower of South Winfield church, and it would thus fix
the year of its erection somewhat later than 1440. The west and
bell-chamber windows are fair specimens of the style, though a
small modern doorway under the former detracts from its appear-
ance. The parapet is embattled, and there are four crocketed
pinnacles at the angles. These are obviously additions of recent
times, and date back, we were told, no further than the beginning
of the present century. The tower contains a peal of five bells,
having the following inscriptions : —

1. " Sir Eardley Wilmot, 1813. T. Hears, of London, fecit."

2. " W. B. & Co., 1774. D. Coke, Sector. T. W., Church-
wardens.

3. " The Eev. Guy Bryan, 1813. D. Mears, of London, fecit."

4. The shoulder of this bell is ornamented with fleurs-de-lis, crosses,
and the monogram I H C. It also bears the founder's mark of
George Oldfield of Nottingham, thus proving it to be of the seven-
teenth century.

5. " Geo. Dobb, of Normentun,

Gave this bell for to be rung,

1654."

Returning to the interior of the church we note the singular cir-
cumstance of there being two piscina drains in the south wall of
the chancel. One is in a small niche ornamented with a trefoil

286 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

head, and is nearly level with the floor. Within the niche is a
small stone shelf, which served the purpose of a credence-table,
to receive certain of the sacred vessels that were used in the ser-
vice of the mass previous to their being required at the altar.
The other one is a simple square-cut drain let into the corner of
the wide sih1 of the window nearest the east end. The first one
is of the Decorated period, and must have been placed in the Avail
at a time when the level of the floor of the chancel was consider-
ably lower than it is at present ; its use being subsequently found
most inconvenient would account for the construction of the second
one to take its place. There is also in this corner a plain stone
bracket for a saint, and there are a few fragments of old yellow
glass in the east window.

The font in use (at the time of our visit) is close to the south
entrance, and is a pedestal contrivance of a comparatively modern
date. The fine old font, though not in use, and filled with rub-
bish, is happily still preserved, and has found a resting-place
inside the church at the east end of the north aisle. It is of an
octagonal shape, and stands on a similar base. The height of the
whole is three feet six inches, and it is two feet four inches hi
diameter across the top. On one face is carved in bold relief a
six-pointed star or mullet, on a second a trefoil, and on the re-
maining six a quatrefoil. It has a handsome effective appearance,
and belongs, we believe, to the Decorated style, of which there are
comparatively few specimens.

The north aisle has evidently been lengthened at the east end
to form a chantry, or special side altar, to which there is also
access by an archway into the chancel, but there is no informa-
tion respecting it in the Chantry Rolls. The east window of this
aisle is blocked up by a large and costly marble tomb of the
weeping-cherub order. It bears a lengthy Latin inscription to the
memory of Eobert Eevel, who died in 1714, and his wife Ann,
daughter of Kobert Wilmot, of Osmaston. There are no other
monuments of sufficient age to warrant any description in these
pages, but over a large square-headed window in the south wall of
the nave, acting as a lintel, is a large slab bearing an incised
cross. Some of the plaster and whitewash has split off, and
exposed part of the head and stem. It appears to be of early
design, and is possibly of the twelfth century, representing a burial
coeval with the church that existed here in the Norman period.

The south wall of the chancel has been propped up on the ex-

SOUTH NOEMANTON. 287

terior with a large clumsy buttress, formed partly of bricks and
partly of stone. It partially conceals an arched sepulchral recess
which has been ornamented with crockets and other work of the
Decorated period.

When Bassano visited this church, about 1710, he noted in a
low window on the south side of the chancel the following arms —
dry., a cross patee, sa., which he attributes to Banaster. But
though he is right in thinking that the ancient family of Banaster
bore this coat,* there was 110 connection whatever, so far as we
are aware, between Banaster and either the church or manor of
Normaiiton. This coat was, however, also borne by Leigh of Adling-
ton, and we might naturally expect to meet with their arms in a
church of which they were for some time the patrons.f

*Harl. MSS. 6589.

f We believe this to have been the same family of Leigh connected with one of the
Chesterfield chantries, and whose arias we noted in the description of the heraldry
of that church.

JQorfoiu

|HE first historical mention of Norton is as early as the
reign of King E their ed, in the year 1002. This occurs
in the will of "VVulfric Spott, hy which he very wealthily
endowed the Abbey of Burton, especially with manors in Derby-
shire, such as Stretton, Ogston, Winfield, Morton, Breadsall, Mor-
ley, and many others. Lysons, misreading the Monasticon, added
Norton to this list, but the actual words of the will are, " I give
to Ufegeat the land at Norton, on the condition that he may the
better be a friend and support to the convent (Burton)." In fact,
the manor has always been in civil hands ; in the Domesday Sur-
vey it is described as being held by Godeva and Bada hi the tune
of Edward the Confessor, and was then held by Ingram (under
Eoger de Bush), the ancestor of Eobert Fitz Eanulph, by whom it
was subsequently inherited.

There is no mention of a church at Norton at the time of the
Domesday Survey, and it seems probable that it was originally
built by Eobert Fitz Eanulph, who was lord of Alfreton and Norton.
He founded Beauchief Abbey, in the reiirn of Henry II., between
the years 1172 and 1176, and bestowed upon it the churches of
Norton and Alfreton, in this county ; Edwalton in Nottinghamshire ;
and "Wimeswold in Leicestershire.

The church is one of the two hundred and twenty-two old dedi-
cations to that favourite saint of English church -builders — St.
James. A modern directory erroneously speaks of it as dedicated
to the Holy Cross, but this error seems to have been caused by
confusing it with the parish church of Morton. It consists of a
nave and chancel, with side aisles, and a tower at the west end.
On entering the church we at once see the evidences of the original
building of Robert Fitz Eauulph in some work of the late Norman
period. The side aisles are separated from the nave by semi-circu-

292 DERBYSHIRE CHURCH KS.

lar arches, supported alternately by round and octagon pillars. On
each side, about the centre, is a single arch of extreme width,
measuring about eighteen feet between the pillars, but it is evident
that these wide arches are not part of the original plan, as they
have been formed by cutting away the centre pillar, to afford more
space for pews. The small arch nearest to the chancel on the north
side is pointed, and thus forms an exception to the late Norman
style. The corresponding arch on the south side terminates in a
corbel stone, which consists of a quaintly carved head.

Although there are but slight traces of the next period to be
found hi the actual structure, yet we have a highly interest-
ing specimen of Early English art in the handsome font,
which stands under the gallery at the west end of the church.
This font stands upon four groups of pillars, three in each, the
interstices being filled with the characteristic toothed ornament.
The sides of the top are well carved with different devices. On the
side facing the east is a very curious figure, somewhat resembling
the cockatrice of fable. It is a bird with a reptile's tail, whilst
the face has a human expression. The head is represented as
looking upwards with a humiliated expression on its countenance.
Figures of this description are occasionally, though rarely, found
upon fonts both in this country and on the continent. We sup-
pose it to represent Satan expressing his anguish at the rite of
Christian baptism. * The other sides are adorned with foliage and
human heads. The date of this font we should place about the
year 1220, when the Early English style was in its perfection. To
the same period we are inclined to attribute the archway leading
into the chancel ; the handsome carvings of the capitals and its
side pillars appear to be of this date, though it is possible that it
may be much later. The carving of these capitals consists of well
defined leaves, with their ends slightly curled over, a design that
is met with in the best specimens of the ai'chitecture of this
period.

Almost the whole of the rest of the church is of the Perpendi-
cular period. The windows of both the north and south aisles are
square-headed and of a plain description. The north aisle has
been rebuilt and somewhat widened within the last few years, but
the windows are identical in size and design with those that pre-
viously existed. The whole of these side aisles, as well as the
nave and chancel, are embattled and adorned with occasional pin-

* Compare the fonts at Ashford and Youlpreave.

Y/TNF

IELD

STAYCI.CY

taax 4 5nu lac - Surie Puctij Dedj

NORTON. 293

nacles. The windows of the chancel are also of the same period,
the east window of five lights being of an unusual width. The side
aisles, instead of terminating where the nave ends, are extended
(in a somewhat greater width) parallel with the chancel ; thus form-
ing two side chapels, connected by archways with the chancel
itself. The chapel on the north side is now blocked out from the
church, and is used as the Sunday School ; the corresponding one
on the opposite side is the Blythe chapel. The east windows of
both of these aisles are of the same Perpendicular description.
The south side of the church is destitute of a porch, and the door-
way is mutilated, the side pillars being wooden instead of stone.
At the end of the south aisle, immediately beneath the corbel-head
already mentioned, is a niche with a trefoil-head, which has for-
merly held the figure of a saint. This tends to point out the
existence of a side altar in this position. Above the arches of the
nave are the clerestory windows, four on each side. They are of
a very plain description, and have been evidently inserted in the
place of older ones at a comparatively modern period.

With the exception of the Blythe monuments, there are now no
other ancient details of interest within the church. The interior is
much disfigured with old-fashioned high pews, and the large
gallery at the west end, which reaches nearly to the roof, com-
pletely blocks up the fine archway leading into the tower.

The monument to William Blythe and his wife is in the south
aisle or chapel of the chancel. This memorial is beautifully
designed, and is formed of slabs of alabaster, with two effigies of
that material reclining on the surface. The man is clad in the
long robes of a civilian, with full sleeves, and his head, which rests
upon a cushion, is uncovered. Under the right arm is a bag or
scrip, and the feet rest upon a dog. The woman wears a close-
fitting robe, and has upon her head the head-dress with falling
lappets, usually worn by ladies at the close of the fifteenth cen-
tury. The sides of this monument are enriched with figure- in
bas-relief under elaborately crocketed canopies. There are seven
figures on the north side, now much mutilated, but they anjvar to
have been angels holding shields before them ; the other side is
almost entirely hidden by an elevated mass of masonry which
covers the Shore vault. Some of the coats of arms can be still
deciphered. On the north side are — three cinquefoils between nine
cross crosslets fitchy (Austin), and, per pale, gu. and arg., a cross
potent counterpotent and quadrate between four crosses patty

294: DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

counterckanged (See of Liclifield), impaling, erm., three roebucks
trippant, <ju., attired, or (Blythe). On the other side is Blythe
repeated, and a coat impaling Blythe, of which the small fragment
that is left seems to be a diminutive cross, but it is in reality
the top of a sceptre, being all that remains of the arms of the
See of Salisbury — the Blessed Virgin and Child, in her left hand
a sceptre.*

It has been generally supposed that the family of Blythe came from
Leeds about the end of the fifteenth century. William Blythe, the
father of the Blythe commemorated by this monument, is described
as being of Leeds in the Herald's Visitation ;f but it is now con-
sidered that this was a false rendering for Lees (Norton Lees),
where the family of Blythe held property as early as the reign of
Edward III. William Blythe married the daughter of an Austin,
of Birley, and had by her five sons :J — Thomas, Roger, John, Geof-
frey, and_Eichard. Thomas, the eldest son, married the daughter
and heiress of Skelley, one of their sons becoming Archdeacon of
Lichfield, and another Master of Trinity College, Cambridge.
Eoger died s. p. Eichard married Catherine, daughter and heiress
of Birchett, of Birchett.

John Blythe was educated at Cambridge. He is mentioned as
being Warden of King's Hall in 1488, and he was Chancellor of
the University in 1494. Besides these offices he held many lucra-
tive appointments in the Church. He was prebend of several
cathedrals, and was Archdeacon of both Stow and Huntingdon in
the diocese of Lincoln, though it does not appear that he ever
resided in that diocese. In 1485 we find him Archdeacon of Bich-
niond in Yorkshire, and in 1492 he was appointed Master of the
Eolls. Finally, on the 23rd of February, 1494, he was consecrated
at Lambeth, to the Bishopric of Salisbury. He died on the 23rd
of August, 1499, and was buried in his cathedral.§ His brother
Geoffrey appears to have been equally fortunate in his share of
Church emoluments. He succeeded John as Warden of King's
Hall, John having vacated that patent in his brother's favour a
year before his death. After enjoying various Church dignities, he
was consecrated Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield in the year 1503,

* For this explanation of the fragmentary coat we are indebted to the late Mr.
Swift, of Sheffield.

tHarl. MSS. 1093, fol. 127.

I Reliquary, April, 1865.

§ History of Salisbury Cathedral, p. 209 ; Hardy's Le Neve, vol. ii., pp. 302, 600 ;
Whittaker's Richmond, p. 37.

NORTON. 295

and retained this bishopric for thirty years up to the time of his
death. The monument we have just described was put up by
Geoffrey to the memory of his parents. In 1524 he also founded u
chantry where mass should be said for the benefit of their souls.

This Chantry is thus described in the Chantry Eoll : —

" The Chauntry beynge a Donatyve founded by Jeffreye Blvthe,
somtyrne Bysshoppe of Coventre and Lychfeld to praye for the soule
of Hen. VII. etc. cxjs. viijc?. clere cxj.?. viijc/. with cvjs. viijJ. pur-
chased of the Abbott and Convent of Derbye, and now payd oute
of the Corte of Augmentacons and vs. for his mancyon house with
a garden which the Vicar of Norton did let to ferine. Bob. Aleyn
Chauntry Preste. Stock viijs. j chalyce and ij vestments. "Will.
Blythe the "patron thereof keypth."

The " mancyon house," belonging to this chantry, was, after the
Reformation, turned into an alehouse, but was pulled down at
the commencement of the century. It stood on the western
side of Norton Green, and Geoffrey purchased the land from
the parish for ten marks on condition of their keeping up a
stock of ten kine. The vicar- was responsible for this, and
in default was to forfeit his weekly allowance of nine gallons
of ale, and nine keyst of bread, which he received from Beauchief
Abbey, till the stock was made good.

An alabaster slab, to the memory of Eichard Blythe, who mar-
ried Katharine Birchett, may still be seen on the floor of the
chancel, though much obliterated and disfigured. We can, however,
give the greater part of the inscription from a transcript that was
made on the 18th of July, 1781 — "Orate pro aminabus Eicardi
Blithe et Kathariiiae uxoris ejus quiquidem Eicardus obiit xxiiij

die .... vicessimo quarto pp .... Amen." * William

Blythe, mentioned in the Chantry Eoll, would be the eldest son of
Eichard, and nephew of the Bishop. There was another nephew
of the same name, son of the eldest brother, Thomas, but he was
not connected with the manor of Norton, having come into a large
fortune with his wife, and residing at Barnby, Yorks. Nor can
there be any doubt that Bishop Geoffrey, at the same time that
he erected this tomb, also built the chapel, which forms the south
aisle of the chancel, for the purposes of a chantry to the memory
of his parents, and probably restored the church throughout. The
buttresses on each side of the doorway into this chapel, are ornamented
with shields carved on the stone. That on the left hand has the

* Peso's C ollectioiiB, vol. iii.

296 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

arms of Blythe, whilst that on the right is now defaced, and was
in that condition even when Bassano visited the church ahout
1710. But that gentleman was assured by Mr. Tricket, who was
then vicar, that it formerly bore Coventry and Lichfield.

The original oaken roof of this chapel is in a fair state of pre-
servation. The bosses are effectively carved with various devices,
amongst which may be noticed, alpha and omega, I.H.S., a rose,
the arms of Blythe, and the initial letter B.

In Hunter's Collections, * there is an Interesting correspondence
preserved between the Vicar of Norton and his Bishop relative to
the interior arrangements of this church, in the first half of the
seventeenth century. A letter to the Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry
from the vicar, Richard Edwards, under date 27th December, 1637,
states that when he first came the reading pew stood at the
upper end of the church on the south side, the middle alley being
five feet wide and eight feet long, and the pulpit on the north side
over against it. A few years after, the churchwarden with his as-
sent, removed the reading pew to the north side against the pulpit.
John Bullock, his " worthy patron aud lord of the manor," pro-
cured a grant from the Bishop, of the place where the reading pew
had stood, for a seat ; but in the meantime some of the parishioners
had put a seat there, four feet wide, which Mr. Bullock occupied.
But about 1629 Mr. George Gill, having married a gentlewoman of
good worth, got permission to place a seat there, and now that the
church was undergoing repairs a dispute had arisen between Mr.
Gill and Mr. Bullock. John Bullock in answer to interrogatories,
said that " the pretended quire is no part of either the church or
chancell, but founded in Henry 7th time by Bishop Blythe, your
lordship's predecessor, and dedicated by him, together with the
chantry there, for a siuginge masse-priest. Both of which were
dissolved by a statute of Edward VI. and granted away from the
Crown, wrhich quire hath continued by name of the Blythes (as
their lay fee) ever since, and by them repayred and used for a
burying place. The sayd Bishop's father arid mother being there
entombed, and the sayd Bishop himselfe, his brother of Salisbury,
and all the rest of the said Blythes children pictured about the
sayd tombe, untill about 14 years since, that Charles Blythe now
living sold the said quire together with the Manor of Norton unto
mee, reserving a burying place therein for himself and family. Which
quire I finding in great decay of that side adjoining my chancel (to

* Hunter's Collections. Add. MSS. 24, 477, f. 16.

NORTON. 297

the ruin of the say cl side thereof) I offered to the parish to repaiiv. "
This offer appears to have been ungraciously received by the parish,
especially by Philip Gill, upon which, Mr. Bullock, " advising with
workmen," seems to have completed the repairs on his own responsi-
bility. How Mr. Bullock and Mr. Gill eventually settled their differ-
ences is not related.

Mr. Charles Blythe, from whom Mr. Bullock purchased the Manor
of Xorton, was the fourth in direct descent from Richard Blythe, the
brother of the bishops. He died in 1045. John Bullock died two
years later, and was interred in the church at Norton, but his tomb,
which was noted by Bassano, in 1710, has disappeared. The Bullocks
had purchased other lauds in the parish, nearly a century before
Charles Blythe sold the manor.

Though there are no other ancient monuments visible in the church,
it i> supposed that certain memorials are concealed under the Hasel-
barow pew. Dr. Pegge was informed by Mr. Newton that " he once
saw under the Haselbarow seat two or three of the Seliokes, in effigy
at full length, but they are all now boarded up." But a later
authority mentions that a tomb in bas-relief of a Selioke under a pew
was broken up during alterations of the present century.* The
Seliokes, of Haselbarow Hall, in this parish, were a very ancient
family. Ten generations are recorded in the Visitation of 15G9.
They continued on that estate till the reign of Queen Elizabeth, when
it was sold to the Stories. William Blythe, of Birchett, son of
Eichard, married one of the Seliokes.

From Bassano's notes, as well as from another manuscript source,
a few further particulars can be obtained with respect to this church
at the commencement of the last century. t There were then two
stones in the south aisle, on which there had been portraitures in
brass. One of these was the wife of Major Spencer, of Attercliff.
She was the daughter of Leonard Gill, Esq., of the Oaks, Norton,
and dying in childbed, was represented with the infant in her arms.J
The Oaks was occupied by the GUIs, who succeeded to the Morewoods
in the seventeenth century, and it subsequently passed by marriage
to the Bagshawes. The other brass had the portraits of John
Parker, of Norton Lees, and his wife. Thomas Parker settled at
Norton Lees, as early as the reign of Richard II., by marriage with
the hen-ess of Gotham, and John Parker was the last of his direct

* Hunter's Collections. Add. MSS. 24,466.

tAdd. MSS., 6701, fol. 60.

J Haines' Manual of Monumental Brasses, vol. i., p. 220.

298 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

male descendants, and died in the reign of Charles I. Anne, the
daughter and heiress of John Parker, brought the estate to Francis
Barker.

There was also an elaborate coat of arms emblazoned in the east
window, which has now • disappeared. We take the description of
this coat from- Bassano's notes, and add in brackets the families to
which the different bearings probably belonged : —

" A quartered coat, 1st and 4th, az., two chevrons, or (Alfreton, for
Chaworth) ; 2nd and 3rd, arg., an escutcheon with an orle of sex de
foiles, sa. (Caltoft) ;
with which is another quartered coat impaled —

" 1. Arg., a fesse, gu. (borne by many families, but probably here
Weldon).

"2. .

" 3. Az., a chevron, or, within an orle of bezants (Zouch).*

" 4. Or, three pales, yu. , within an orle of bezants (Basset) .f

" 5. Az., a crosse, arg., quarter-pierced" (Aylesbury).

These arms are of much interest in connection with the history of
the manor of Norton. Thomas, Lord Alfretou, the great grand-son of
Eobert Fitz-Eanulph, the founder of Beauchief, and lord of the manor
of Norton, died without issue, and this manor passed with one of his
sisters and co-heiresses to William Chaworth. :[ From the Chaworths
it passed in the fifteenth century to John Ormond, and thence in
moieties to Dynham and Babington. Subsequently both moieties
were purchased by the Blythes.

When William Chaworth married Alice, co-heiress of Alfreton, he
assumed the latter arms. Sir William Chaworth, the sixth in descent
from this match, married, in 1398, Alice, daughter and heiress of Sir
John Caltoft. Their son and heir, in whose life-time the coat of arms
in the east window was probably put up, married Elizabeth, who re-
presented a co-heiress of Zouch, of Harringworth. The presence of

* The arms of Zouch varied much in tincture, at a time when tinctures were fre-
quently changed for " a difference." The field was usually gules, but not only did
the field vary, for the chevron is found argent and ermine. — Papworth's British
Armorials, p. 465, etc.

t The arms of the wide-spreading family of Basset were in almost endless variety,
and altered with much apparent caprice. The arms of Basset, Lord Weldon, are
more than once given as above, but within a bordure besanty. That excellent
herald, William Wyrley, in his rare treatise, The True Use of Armorie (1592), takes
the family of Basset to illustrate the old way of "differencing." Of this particular
coat he remarks—" Ealph Basset, the eldest sonne of Richard, which Eichard and
Mauld Kydell, and to whom his mother gave the baronie of Weldon, bare gold three
pals red, a border of steele studded with gold compassing the same about."

Inq. post Mort. 29 Edward I., No. 109; 31 Edw. III., No. 4 ; 37 Henry VI., No. 25.

NORTON. 299

the other coats on this shield will be explained by referring to the
pedigree of Elizabeth Babiugton in the account of Ashover Church.*

The gift of the church of Norton to the Abbey of Beauchief simply
implied, in the first instance, the gift of the advowson. When Pope
Nicholas' Taxation Roll was taken in 1291, Norton is described as an
"ecclesia" (not a vicarage) worth £8 Os. Od. per annum. But sub-
sequently the rectorial tithes were appropriated by the monastery,
and Norton made a vicarage. The Valor Ecclesiasticus of 27 Henry
VIII., gives the following details with respect to the vicarage and

chantry of Norton : —

NORTON VICARIA.
Abbas de Bello Capite Patronus.

Dominus Thomas Gilberte Vicarius ibidem habet communibus annis ut sequitur.

£ B. d.

In primis in mansione cum glebis et pertinenciis - xx

Item in corrodio de monasterio de Bello Capite et valet per annum liij iiij

Item in paschali rotulo communibus annis xl

Item in decimis minutis ut ancarum porcellorum lini et ovorum - vj viij

Item in oblationibus - - - - - -.- - - - xiij iiij

Summa - - v xiij iiij

de quibus nihil oneratur.
NORTON CANTERIA.

Fundata per Galfridum Blithe nuper Coventrensem et Lichfeldensem episcopum.

£ s. d.
Dominus Robertus Alanus cantarista ibidem habet in mansionef

cum gardino per ibidem --------- v

Item de monasterio de Darley in comitatu Derbie in pensione - v vj viij

Summa - - v xi viij

The same authority gives the clear annual value of the rectory of
Norton, then in the hands of the Abbey, as £7 16s. Id. The Abbey
also possessed other properties within the parish, which brought them
in an additional income of £13 19s. 2d.

The Parliamentary Commission of 1650 reported the vicarage of
Norton to be worth £23 15s. Od. per annum. The incumbent was
one " Mr. Kellani Maiuwaring, who hath formerly been sequestered in
another countye, and is scandalous. ":£

The tower, which is of no great elevation, is entered by a modern
doorway on the south side. Its summit is embattled and ornamented
with turrets. Judging from the windows of the bell-chamber, we are

* See ante, Ashover Church, p. 32 ; also p. 11 for the account of the tomb of John
Ormond, at Alfreton.

fThe chantry house (or mansion) -was situated on the west side of Norton Green.
Lysons makes a singular blunder in describing it as the chantry cha/>el, and says
that after the Reformation it was desecrated and turned into an alehouse, but finally
pulled down by Mr. Joseph Offley. The chantry chapel was within the church; the
house pulled down by Mr. Offley was merely the house built by Bishop Blythe for the
residence of the chantry priest.

£ Parliamentary Survey (if Livings, vol. vi., p. 468 (Lambeth Palace MSS.)

300 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

inclined to think that the tower is of little earlier date than the body
of the church, which appears to have been rebuilt in the time of
Henry VII. The ascent to the bells is by no means an easy task, as
the tower is destitute of a staircase, and the ladders lack many a
rung, whilst the trap door, through which one has finally to squeeze,
is of very smah1 dimensions. The clerk amused us much with narrat-
ing the experiences of a former fat adventurer who had stuck fast in
this aperture for a considerable period. After all one's trouble the
climb is but poorly repaid, for the bells, which are six in number,
bear the date of 1810. They were cast by James Harrison, of Barton.
In the churchyard, which is well kept, may be noticed the lower
portion of the shaft of the old cross, standing iipon four circular
steps.

finpfon.

CON SIDEB ABLE part of the parish of Pinxton lies in
the county of Nottinghamshire, but the church aud vil-
lage are in Derbyshire. Lysons says that the manor is
supposed to have been the Snodeswic, which was given by Wulfric
Spott, as au appendage to Morton, to Burton Abbey ; and the
Esnotrewic of the Domesday Survey, which was held by Drago
under William Peverell. The manor of Pinxton was subsequently
held for many generations in connection with the whole or a moiety
of the adjacent manor of South Normantou, and we refer the reader
to the account of South Normautou church, for the various re-
ferences to the history of the advowson of this rectory that we
have been able to coUect. It will there be seen that Nicholas and
Alice Longford sold their share of Pinxton and Normanton to Sir
William Babington, of Chilwell, at the commencement of the reign
of Henry VI., and this share seems to have included the advow-
son of Pinxton, for Sir William Babington died seized of half the
manor of Pinxton and the advowson of the church before the end
of the same reign.* Sir WTilliam Babington was Chief Justice of
the Common Pleas, and filled various other legal offices in the
reign of Henry. According to Nichols he was buried at Lenton
Priory, 1455, "having lived 99 years in godly life and conversa-
tion.'^ The advowson descended from the Babingtons to the
Sheffields, and subsequently continued to belong to the various
holders of the manor. There is no reason to doubt that there
was an independent benefice at Pinxton as early as the thirteenth
century ; and it is, therefore, very strange to find it altogether
omitted from the Taxation Boll taken in 1291. It is not, however,
omitted from the next roll-call of the clergy and their benefices

*Inq. post Mort, 33 Hc-u. VI., Xo. 23.
tNichol's Collectanea, vol. viii., p. 319.

304 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

— the Valor Ecclesiasticus of 27 Henry VIII. — where it is thus
described : —

PYNKSTON RECTORIA.
Sheffeld Patronus ibidem.

Dominus Christoferus Roodes rector ibidem habet in communibus anuis ut sequitur.

In maiisione cum gleba et pertinenciis ------ xx

In decimis garbarum et feni liij iiij

In paschali rotulo ----- xxxiij

In decimis lane et agnellorum .----•»-'- vj viij

In oblationibus ------ v

In decimis carbonum iiij

In decimis molendini iiij

In decimis minutis ij viij

Summa - vi x viij

From this total a deduction for archidiaconal fees was made of
10s., leaving a clear income of £6 Os. 8d.

The Parliamentary Commissioners reported of " Pinkestone," in
1650, that it was fit to be united to South Normanton and Soiith
Normanton to be enlarged " if there be iieede." Mr. Ralph Ehoades
was then the incumbent.

The church is dedicated to St. Helen, and is a most singular
structure. It may confidently lay claim to the palm for ugliness
among all the churches of the Hundred of Scarsdale. The more
modern part of the church consists of a chancel and nave, with a
porch at the west end. On the south side of the chancel is a
fragment of the old church with the tower. The round-headed
windows, and general aspect of the main part of the building, clearly
point to the style that was in vogue about the middle of last cen-
tury. The actual date of the rebuilding is probably indicated on
one of the beams of the roof of the nave, which is incised with
the letters " F.L." and the year " 1755." Some of these beams
appear to have formed part of an earlier roof of the Perpendicular
period The old font is still preserved close to the western door.
It is of large dimensions, and of a plain octagonal form on a well-
moulded base. It stands a little over three feet high, and is
twenty-nine inches in diameter across the top. The basin is
twenty-two inches in diameter and twelve deep.

In the paving of the aisle of the nave may be noticed several
fragments of early incised slabs, all apparently of the thirteenth
century or thereabouts. On one of these, that lacks the head, is
the stem of a sepulchral cross, having on the dexter side a pair
of shears, and on the sinister a sword. This fragment is of much
interest to those who study these early memorials. In the first
place the form of the shears is peculiar ; they have double-pierced

PINXTON. 305

handles, like modern tailor's scissors, a shape that we have not pre-
viously noticed, and which we fail to find depicted in any of the
manuals of incised slabs with which we are acquainted. Doubt-
less when originally sculptured, their shape would point to some
well-known distinctive branch of the lucrative trade of woolstapler
or clothier. Again, a controversy at one time existed among anti-
quaries, to which allusion is elsewhere made in these pages," as to
the meaning of the symbol of the shears ; for it was contended by
some that they were merely an emblem of the female sex. The
combination, however, of symbols on this slab — a combination
hitherto unnoted — affords an additional argument against the cor-
rectness of this surmise. The sword and shears seem to point out
that the deceased, though a wool merchant, or of a wool mer-
chant's family, bore arms in the field. Beyond these fragments
there are no early memorials. One of post-Keformation date, from
the chancel floor, is perhaps worthy of reproduction from .the
quaint way in which the words are divided and the absence of
proper space between them : —

" MARCH121674
THENWASHEEE

IXTEREDTHE

BODYOFMARYKEL

SALAGED32"

A modern semi-circular archway opens from the south side of the
chancel into a portion of the old edifice. The east side of this
chapel, as it were, which is but about six feet across, is lighted
by a comparatively modern square-headed window of three lights,
and the west end by a small lancet window of the Early English
period in the thirteenth century. Of the same date is a stone
bracket with boldly cut foliage against the south wall.

A small doorway, not six feet high, opens into the basement of
the tower. The tower is in itself peculiar for its oblong shape,
its east and west sides being much less in width than the north
and south. It is of a later date than the lancet window, as is at
once shown by the Decorated tracery of the pointed east window,
which alone gives light, the other sides being unpierced. It is evi-
dent, both from the interior and exterior, that the upper part of
the tower, though composed of old material, has been rebuilt —
perhaps at the time when the body of the church was re-erected.
This is plainly shown by the square-topped windows of the bell-

* See the subsequent account of the Church at Pleasley.

X

3'06 DERBYSHIEE CHURCHES.

chamber, the lintels of which, as may be seen from the inside,
have done duty in the base of some earlier windows.

The tower contains two bells. The only one in use bears the
inscription, " Thomas Hears, of London, fecit, 1803." The other
one, which is woefully cracked, is of considerable age. It has 110
bell-founders' mark or date, but the inscription, in black-letter,
runs as follows: — "Ave gratia plena dominus tecum."

The south waU of the tower is supported by two buttresses,
which only reach to the first story. This tower, and its adjacent
fragment of old work, are not a little puzzling; but the most likely
conjecture that occurred to us was this, that the part of the old
church that now opens out of the chancel, occupied the same rela-
tive position to the body of the original church, to which it served
as a transept, or chantry for the side altar, at the time when the
Early English lancet windows were in vogue ; that the doorway,
that now leads into the tower, then opened on the churchyard ;
and that the tower was an after-thought, the church having pre-
viously only had a western bell-turret, and that it was built on to
the end of this chantry as the most convenient and least expen-
sive place. This, too, might account for the peculiarity of its
oblong shape, for had it been built of an equal square with the
previously existing wall, it would have been so large as to be quite
out of proportion with the rest of the church.

When Bassano visited this church, about 1710, he made a few in-
teresting notes relative to it, though it had then no monuments,
arms, or inscriptions, save a shield cut in wood over the chancel
archway, upon which were the emblems of our Saviour's passion.
As to the quaint disposition of the church he remarks, " what seems
observable here is that ye steple stands on ye south side of ye
church, which seems to have been builded at several times." He
records the tradition that Sir Hugh Pinkinson was once the lord
of this manor, that from him it went to the family of Cliffords,
and that here was born Fair Kosamund. It is interesting to note
that, though one hundred and fifty years have elapsed since this
was written, the tradition, with respect to Fair Rosamund having
been born in a castle close to this church, is yet whispered about
in the neighbourhood. Rosamund was the daughter of "Walter,
Lord Clifford. Bassano further describes the hillocks, and traces of
walls that then remained to the south and west of the churchyard.
Certain of these hillocks were opened in 1686, when searching for
coal ; and several old lead pipes were discovered, which had served

PINXTON. 307

in former days to convey water to the ancient mansion. But a
more interesting discovery than this was made about the same
time on the east side of the churchyard, when there were found
" Imagies of ye Virginn and 12 apostles, fully portrayed and curi-
ously cut in alibaster, with gold upon them then faire to be seen."
What has become of these interesting relics ?

F the manor of Pleasley (or Plesley) no mention is made in
the Domesday Survey. One of the earliest aUusions to it,
•with which we are acquainted, is in the abstract of pleadings
of the year 1213, when Ralph "Willougliby had a freehold in Pleseley.*
The Willoughbys came originally from Lincolnshire, but obtained a
standing in this county by marriage with one of the co-heiresses of
Serlo de Plesley, who died in 1203. But the interest of the
Willoughbys at that time appears to have been rather in the park of
Pleasley, than in the manor proper. This park of Pleasley, generally
termed Warsop Wood, was subsequently held for several generations
by the family of ROOS.+

In the reign, however, of Edward I., both the manor and church of
Pleasley were held conjointly by Thomas Beck, who also obtained a
special grant of free warren. J The Beck family settled in this county
at an early period, for shortly after the Conquest we find one Ernulf de
Beck, lord of the manor of Hilton, in the parish of Marston-on-Dove.§
Thomas Beck, of Pleasley, held the important office of Lord
Treasurer to Edward L, and was also appointed by the king to the
Bishopric of St. David's on the subjection of Wales. || Pleasley must

* Placitorum Abbreviatio, 14 John, Eot. 13, in dorso.
tlnq. post Mort. 46 Ed\v. III., No. 8; 9 Hen. VI., No. 48.
J Calend. Eot. Chart., 13 Edw. I., No. 105.

$Dugdale's Ifonasticon, vol. i., p. 355. For the early pedigree of Beck or
Beke, see Nichol's Collectanea, vol. iv., pp. 331-345.

At the time of the first establishment of Christianity in Britain there were three
Archbishops, whose sees were situated at London, York, and Caerleon, the last being
transferred to Mynyw, in 519, on account of its too great proximity to the Saxons,
and afterwards called St. David's, from the Archbishop who effected the removal.
To twenty-six of his successors did the title remain, but Archbishop Sampson,
alarmed at the plague, removed with all his clergy, to Dol, in Brittany, and the sub-
sequent possessors of the see of St. David's were merely styled bishops. In 1115,
Bishop Bernerd submitted to the metropolitan of Canterbury, and lost for the Welsh
Church its independence. Several of his successors, however, including the cele-
brated Giruldus Cambrensis, stoutly resisted the jurisdiction of Canterbury, and the
final claim was made by Thomas Beck, when in 1284 a general visitation of the
"Welsh dioceses was made by John Peckham, Archbishop of Canterbury. The ap
peal was disallowed, and Peckham avenged himself on liishop Beck, by depriving
the resident priests of the Cathedral of their cauonries, because they had adhered to
the primitive custom of marriage. — Wilkius, vol. ii., p. 106.

312 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

have been a place of some little importance at this period in its
history, for the bishop obtained in the year 1284, a grant of a market
here, as well as a fair for three days at the festival of St. Mark.*

On the death of the Bishop of St. David's, his brother Anthony
succeeded to his estates, and died seized of the manor and advowsoii
of Pleasley in 1311. f The Becks seem to have been a family that
basked in royal favour. Anthony was the second son of "Walter Beck,
Baron of Eresby, in Lincolnshire. He accompanied Prince Edward
to the Holy Land, and was one of his closest friends. On his return
to England in 1274 with Edward, who was then king, Anthony
entered into orders, and was rapidly preferred. He obtained
successively a prebendary at Dublin, a canonry at Poiitefract, and a
prebendary at Kipon. In 1275 he was made Archdeacon of Durham,
and prebend of St. Paul's, London. As to secular appointments, he
held during all this tune the office of royal secretary, and was also
keeper of the wardrobe, and constable of the Tower. On the 9th of
July, 1283, he was elected Bishop of Durham, and was not enthroned
till two years later ; when, owing to a dispute between the Archbishop
of York and the Prior of Durham, as to the right of performing the
ceremony, he received the mitre from the hands of his brother,
Thomas Beck, the Bishop of St. David's. He was also held hi great
favour by Pope Clement V., who conferred upon him the high-sound-
ing but empty title of Patriarch of Jerusalem. He died in 1311, after
a most memorable episcopate.]:

On the death of Anthony, the manor of Pleasley was divided into
moieties between his two nieces, the daughters and co-heiresses of
John Beck, Lord of Eresby, who married respectively into the families
of Harcourt and Willoughby. The advowson of the church went
with the Willoughby moiety, for we find that Robert Willoughby died
seized of it in the tenth year of Edward II. § The Willoughby s'
moiety (with the advowson) remained in that family for several
generations, || but subsequently passed, according to Lysons, to the
Leakes ; and, on the death of Nicholas, last Earl of Scarsdale, both
manor and advowsou were purchased by Henry ThornhiU. But the

*Not St. Luke, as Lysons has it. See Quo "Warranto Rolls, 4 Edw. III., where the
grant of Edward I. is repeated with full details.

flnq. post Mort., 4 Edw. II., No. 45.

{ See the sketch of Anthony Beck's life in the preface to the Registrum Palati-
num Dunelmcnse. His life yet remains to be written; and, if thoroughly and ably
done, would form a biography of surpassing interest.

§ Inq. post Mort., 10 Edw II., No. 48.

|| Inq. post Mort., 30 Hen. VI., No. 18. There is a good abstract of the history of
Pleasley manor amongst the Wolley Collections. Add. MSS. 6674, ff. 138 to 144.

PLEASLEY. 313

Earl of Shrewsbury was patron of the living in the reign of
Henry VIII.

The church of Pleasley was valued at £10 per annum in 1291, ac-
cording to the valuation taken for Pope Nicholas IV. The Valor
Ecclesiasticus, 27 Henry VIII., gives the following particulars respect-
ing the benefice at that date : —

PLESLEY EECTOEIA.
Georgius Comes Salopie Patronus.

Domirms Nicholaus Herryson. rector ibidem kabet communibus annis ut sequitur.

JL1 s. d.
In mansione et glebis - xij

In uno tenemento et uno cotagia xiij

In decimus garbarum et feni vj v

In decimis lane et agnellorum - xl

In decimis minutis -- v

In oblationibus - x

In paschali rotulo ---------- xxx

Summa - - xj

This left a clear annual value, after deducting the archidiaconal
fees, of £10 4s. 5d. But the Parliamentary Commissioners of 1650,
estimated its value at £100 a year. At the time of their visit Mr.
John Beayse was the incumbent, whom they report to be " a delin-
quent of dangerous principles."

The church of Pleasley is dedicated to St. Michael, and consists
simply of a chancel, nave, south porch, and western tower. That a
church existed here in the Norman period is evident from the arch-
way that divides the nave from the chancel. The arch is handsomely
moulded and ornamented with the alternate billet pattern. The
jambs, which are slightly out of the perpendicular, are twelve feet
apart. This is the only remnant of Norman work, and seems to be of
the reign of the first Henry.

The cast window of the chancel has two principal lights, and is of
small dimensions for such a situation. It is an early plain specimen
of the Decorated style, about the commencement of the fourteenth
century.

Two similar windows light the south side of the nave, whilst one,
a little more elaborate in design, with a trefoil head, is in the south
wall of the chancel. These windows, however, seem to us to have
been inserted in the walls at an earlier date, and we are inclined
to think that the greater part of the walls of the body of the
church are the same that were erected when the Early English
style prevailed. Three small lancet windows of this date are on
the north side, two in the nave and one in the chancel, and there
is also one on the south side. These windows are all widely
splayed on the inside, the walls being of considerable thickness.

314 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

The archway into the tower is open to the church, and is sup-
ported by two plain corbels. There is an ascent of three steps to
the base of the tower, and here is placed the font. It appears
to be of modern construction, except, perhaps, the wide circular
base.

The tower is of the Perpendicular period. The west window is
of limited size, and has a doorway beneath it. Inside the belfry,
in the west wall, may be noticed two stones bearing portions of an
incised cross, which has been broken up for building purposes when
the tower was being erected. This chamber is lighted, too, on the
south, by a deeply-recessed window; and the lintel is formed of a
large fragment of what has doubtless once served for a coffin lid.
The slab is now about two feet wide by four in length. Down the
centre of the exposed surface are the double incised lines which
formed the stem of a cross, on the sinister side of which is the
rudely -executed symbol of a key. As in our descriptions of Derby-
shire churches we shall on several occasions again meet with this
symbol, it will not be amiss to write a few words on this disputed
point. The popular theory is, that the key on monumental slabs
indicates the profession of a smith or a locksmith ; but this notion
seems to be clearly untenable, when the other emblems with which
it is often found in association are taken into account. Thus, for
instance, among the slabs at Bakewell, is one upon which both a
key and a pair of shears are depicted ; and the conclusion ought
therefore to be drawn, that the individual whom it commemorated
combined the unlikely trades of a smith and a woolstapler. Another
suggestion, which has found some favour, is that the key, as well
as the shears, is only the emblem of a female interment. But here
again, the combination in which these emblems are found, together
with other reasons that will occur to the student of incised slabs,
seems to forbid this supposition. The third theory (first suggested
we believe by Mr. Boutell in his Christian Monuments), and one that
strongly commends itself, is that the key points out the official
station of the persons commemorated, such as a town magistrate,
or other office of local importance. This supposition of magisterial
office will be found to be quite in harmony with the symbols that
are found in combination with the key. Mr. Boutell well remarks
" that a key was regarded as the symbol of local authority is sig-
nificantly declared by the mayor offering the keys of the town over
which he presides to the sovereign on the occasion of a royal visit
— a custom continued from the ' olden time ' to our own days. A

PLEASLKY. 315

well-known instance of the use of the key as an official symbol is
its being worn by the Lord Chamberlain of the royal household."*

The summit of the tower is embattled, and has at the angles
four short crocketed pinnacles. These pinnacles are all stoutly
secured with iron clamps, and other iron stays may be seen at the
north-west angle of the tower. These are the traces of the repairs
necessitated by an earthquake, which, according to Lysons, made
"a large chasm" in the church steeple on Sunday, the 17th of
March, 1816. According to a description given to us by an aged
eye-witness of the scene, this term erred on the side of exaggera-
tion, but it is true that " a slight fissure " was then made, and
that the pinnacles were shaken. We were told that the only other
damage done by the earthquake in that neighbourhood was the
shaking of the chimneys of the adjacent rectory. This earthquake
appears to have been generally felt throughout the midland counties.

On the north side of the church is a small doorway, now blocked
up, which was formerly called the Stoney Houghton door, being
the door on that side of the church which was nearest to the
hamlet of that name. The church now bears a high-pitched roof
of slate, which was substituted for a flab one of lead, about thirty
years ago, when the vestry to the north of the chancel was erected,
and other alterations and repairs effected. At this time the external
sepulchral recess on the south side of the chancel was opened, but
contained neither stone coffin nor other remains, but merely a coffin-
shaped slab. It seems probable that it was originally built in the
wall, as a receptacle for one of the founders, or rather re-founders,
of the church ; but that it was never used, owing to his elsewhere
finding a place of sepulture.

This church seems to have been singularly destitute of monu-
mental or heraldic remains. Bassano passes over Pleasley without
any notice, but, amongst the various manuscript collections of a
later date that we have consulted, two references have been found
relative to this church. Hunter visited Pleasley on the 10th of
August, 1802, when he copied the following inscription from a stone
in the nave : — " Here with his ancestors lyeth the mortall part of
John Stuffyu of Shirebrook, Gent., who at his house there in the
month of January A.D. 1695, yielded up his loyall breath, aged 80
years. He left issue by Mary his wife, daughter and sole heiress
of John Feme of Hopton, Gent. — John Stuffyn of Shirbrook soune
and heir of Hopton of the inheritence of his mother, & Mary, &

* Boutell's Chrixti ' »i Monuments, p. 84. See also. Cutts' Manual of Sepulchral
Slabs, p. 42.

316 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Bridget. (William and Hercules died without issue.) " To the copy
of this inscription is appended a further note, in which he says,
" I visited this church again 2 August, 1848. I did not observe
this inscription. It has I fear heen destroyed in the late restoration
of the church." *

The Stuffyns, of Shirehrook, were an ancient and well-connected
family, who held lands there in the time of Edward II. t In the
reign of Edward III. they held the manor of Brirnington, hi the
parish of Chesterfield, and subsequently obtained by marriage, as is
recorded in this description, the manor, or rather a portion of the
manor of Hopton, which was afterwards sold to Sir Philip Gell.
John Stuffyn, of Hopton, the last male heir, died the year after
his father's decease (1696), according to Bassano, who mentions
his monument in the parish church of Wirksworth. He also
describes the monument that was then in the chancel, but much
defaced, to the memory of John Feme, of Hopton. The heiress
married Hacker, of Trowell, in Nottinghamshire.

A short description of the church, written about 1815, mentions
that there was then within the rails an incised slab, bearing a cross
fleury, a book, and a chalice, so that the " restoration " seems to
have been of an unusually destructive nature. The same account
speaks of " a double chancel, one beyond the other ; the first arch,
circular and depressed, with billet mouldings, has been crampt ; the
pilasters have square plain mouldings ; the inner arch circular and
quite plain."J

Over the entrance to the porch is a plain mural sun-dial, about
two feet square, bearing at the top the date 1772, but not other-
wise inscribed.

The tower contains three bells. The first has a rudely- executed
inscription in large Gothic letters, a portion of which is apparently
omitted, but may have been intended for " Sancta Maria." The
conclusion of the inscription is marked by a cross pate ; in this
and in the character of the letters it resembles the two first bells
at Barlborough. The second : — " God save the Church, 1818."
The third:— "God save the King. C. J., M. H., Wardens, 1675."

The parish accounts for the year 1724 contain the following
entry : — " For hanging ye great bell £2."

* Collectanea Hunterianea. Add. MSS., 24, 466.

t Inq. post Mort. 16 Edw. II., No. 27. " Hugo Scufl
id one bovate of land at Shirebrook.

\ Lysons' Correspondence. Add. MSS. 9448, f. 272.

t Inq. post Mort. 16 Edw. II., No. 27. " Hugo ScufFyn " died seized of one messuage
arid one bovate of land at Shirebrook.

SHIREBKOOK. 317

<£f)apclrg of

UST on the verge of the county, three miles to the north
east of Pleasley, is the township and Chapelry of Shire-
brook. Very little, in short almost nothing, is known
of the history of the chapel of Shirebrook. Lysons simply
remarks, "there is a chapel of ease at Shirebrook, at which
divine service is performed once a month by the rector of Pleas-
ley or his curate." Nor can we judge as to its proba-
ble age, for in 1843 a neat stone building was erected at a
cost of £1000, in place of a "venerable structure."-- The
chapel was kept in repair by a rate levied on the inhabitants of
the township ; at least so we judge from finding that the accounts
of Shirebrook were kept separate from those of the parish. It is
also curious to note that the building was as often termed
''church" as "chapel" in the accounts of last century, and that
the guardian of the fabric was designated c/m>v/iwardeu. Mr. John
Booley was churchwarden for Shirebrook in 1703, and his year's
expenses were : — s. d.

"Disbursement for bread and wine 3 6

Rich. Hudson for ridding dirt out of chapell 0 4

2 fox heads . .20

5 10 "

In 1754 the building underwent considerable repairs, and the
endorsement on the back of the yearly accounts — "Mr. Henry
Heath's accounts for the Church of Shirebrook for the years 1754
and 1755 ; at ye same tune the steeple was pointed and new
leaded" — proves that it was possessed of some sort of a steeple, but
perhaps, only a bell turret. The expenditure on the chapel itself
for that year \\ as as follows : —

* Bagshawe's Gazetteer of Derbyshire, p. 661.

318 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

£ s. a.

" A Beesani for the Chappel 0 0 1

Pd for wood and worck

Done at the Church 616

Pd to joiners and masons there 8 0 0

Pd to Eichard Clayton for ale druuck when

Church was repard 0 18 0 ,,

The parish registers of Pleasley contain the following memoran-
dum relative to this chapel, which was copied many years ago by
Mr. Wolley— *

" That John Stuffyn, gent., whose ancestors for several genera-
tions had considerable estates in Shirebrook in this parish, were
the sons of the Church of England, and very serviceable and bene-
ficial to the neighbourhood — did some time before his death give a
pulpit cushion and cloath to the use of the Chappell of Shirbrook.
He dyed November 23, 1696, and sometime after his decease his
widow and relict, Mrs. Sarah Stuffyn gave a very fair Bible in
quarto for the same pious use. And within five years after John
Hacker, jun., nephew of the aforesaid John Stuffyu, and son of
John Hacker of Trowele, in com. Notts., gent., by Mary, daughter
of John Stuffyn of Stuffyn, and Mary Ferns, his wife, gave good
Holland for a Cloath for the Alter at Pleasley ; which said John
Hacker is now owner of Stuffyn, by the gift of his said uncle John
Stuffyn."

The Taxation Eoll of 1291 does not ascribe any chapel to
Pleasley, nor is it mentioned in the Valor Ecdesiasticus of Henry
VIII. The Parliamentary Commissioners of 1650, say: — "Shir-
brook is a chapel of ease, in the parish of Plesley. The chapel
is thought fitt to be disused and the village connected to Plesley.
One William Thorpe officiates at Sherbrooke, who was formerly
sequestred out of Carsington in the hundred of Wirksworth."

* Add. MSS. 6697, f. 362.

reprliffp.

HEEE is no record of a church at Scarcliffe when the
Domesday survey was taken ; nor at Paltreton, a hamlet
in this parish, which appears to have then been the more im-
portant manor of the two. These manors were then held by Ralph
Fitzhubert, and in the time of his grandson, Hubert Fitzralph, a
church was built at Scarcliffe, and a chapel (of which no traces
now remain) at Paltreton. The Abbey of St. Helen's, at Derby,
was founded by Robert, Earl Ferrers, in the reign of Stephen, but the
Canons removed in the following reign to Darley, where they estab-
lished the Abbey of St. Mary about the year 1135. Amongst the
earliest endowments of the Abbey of Darley was the advowson of
the church of Scarcliffe, together with the chapelry of Paltertou,
which was the gift of Hubert Fitzralph. Hubert was thrice married,
a fact which is specified in the charter granting the advowson of the
church of Scarclifi'e to the Abbey, " pro salute anime mee, et Sare
uxoris race, et Edeline quondam spouse mee, et Sare postea uxoris
mee."* His grandson, Ralph de Frechville, confirmed these grants
" on the Saturday next before the feast of St. Gregory the pope,
at "NVyuefield, in the year 1243," as well as the gift of " his
mother Julian, of a Bovate of laud hi Scardecliffe."t Although
Pilkington, followed by Davies, attributes the dedication of this
church to All Saints, its true patron, according to the Liber Regis,
is St. Leonard, and this we found to be the impression at present
prevailing in the parish ; but the original chartulary of Darley
Abbey, the highest possible authority, speaks of it as the Church
of St. Giles — " Ecclesia Saucti Egidii de Scardeclif" — at the time
when Hubert Fitzralph made an augmentation to the glebe lauds.

"The Chartulary of Darley Abbey; Cotton MSS. Titus C. ix.. f. 115. Another
chartulary of Darley Abbey appears to have belonged, in 1780, to the Master of Em-
anuel, Cambridge, and \v.is then copied by Mr. Cole, who describes it as a thin vellum
volume, iu the hand of the reign of Richard II. This copy is amongst the Cole Col-
lections. Add. MSS.. .,-•_!•_!. f. l.Vt. Nichols' Collect an en (vol. i. p. 200) mentions three
other copies, one in the Bodleian, and two others in private hands.

fAcld. MSS., 6097, f. 159.

Y

322 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

It is just possible that the church was dedicated to St. Leonard at
some future period when the building was being remodelled. *

The church consists of a nave, north aisle, chancel, south
porch, and a modern tower at the west end. The porch is a
plain building, without windows, having a pointed roof and
doorway, but it covers a very good Nornian entrance. The jambs
of this inner doorway are ornamented with shafts not detached, but
cut out of the same stones as the other parts of the work, which
affords a proof that it is not late in the Norman style. The
opening reaches no higher than the level of the springing of
the arch, the tympanum, or serni- circular stone, being ornamented
with a variety of geometrical patterns arranged with much
caprice. The surface is divided into small squares, filled in with
various devices, the intersection of diagonal lines, two intersect-
ing triangles, &c., &c. We have occasionally seen patterns of
a like description in a similar position (e.g. the porch of Tissiugton
Church), but the tympanum is more usually ornamented with rudely
sculptured figures of animated life. On entering the church we at
once notice further traces of the original fabric presented by Hu-
bert Fitzralph to the monks of Darley. The north aisle is separated
from the nave by four round arches. These arches are supported
by three Norman pillars of different construction, one being circular,
another octagon, and the third formed of a cluster of four smaller
ones. Though the archway into the chancel is a pointed one, the
jambs appear to be of older construction, and may, we think, from
their mouldings be safely assigned to the original Norman building.
The priest's small door, on the south side of the chancel, is also a
good specimen of old Norman work, though the fresh-cut appearance
of the moulding inclines one, at first, to a belief in its modern origin.
It was, however, according to our informant, merely freed from
plaster, and scraped, a few years ago, when much of the church
was renovated and put in order. In the south-east corner of
the chancel, against the south wall, may be noticed a small Xor-
man piscina. The drain itself is in a square stone projecting from
the wall, and above it is a diminutive rounded niche nine inches
wide by seven high. During a subsequent alteration this piscina
seems to have been discarded, and, perhaps, hidden by the altar
furniture, another being constructed a little further down in the
wall. This second piscina has a square opening above it, and
forms a component part of the string-course that runs along the
side of the wall.

* On the subject of re-dedication see the account of the church of North Winfield.

SCARCLIFFE. 323

A small lancet window, on the soiith side, connects the chancel
with the Early English period of the thirteenth century ; another one
of larger dimensions heing now blocked up with masonry in the op-
posite wall.

Below this small window lies an ancient monument of some
celebrity, of which Lysons gives an accurate engraving. We regard
it as perhaps the most interesting memorial that Derbyshire possesses.
It consists of the full length effigy of a lady, holding a child on her
left arm. It is doubtless of the Early English period ; and
there are but few monuments of that date in such perfect
condition. The head, which rests on a lion, is adorned with
a well wrought coronet, denoting the high rank of the wearer.
The hair is gathered up at the sides of the face in plaited braids.
She wears a long plain tunic or dress with tight-fitting sleeves, and
confined by a girdle at the waist. The tunic is fastened at the neck
by a brooch, formed of an open circle with a central pin. Below it
is an embroidered band crossing the breast, which secures the long
flowing mantle that hangs down behind nearly to the feet ; a fold of
the mantle is brought forward in front and upheld by the right arm.
The left arm is passed round the child, whose feet rest on a sort of
foliated bracket. The infant's right hand reaches up, in a coaxing
attitude, to the face of the mother, and in the left hand is held a
long scroll. This scroll is delicately engraved with the following
stanza, in rhymed Leonine verse : —

" Hie sub humo strata, mulier jacet tumutala
Constaiis et grata,, Coustaucia jure voeata,
Cu genetrice data proles requiescit humata,
Quanquam peccata capiti ejus fiint cumulata,
Crimine purgata cum prole Johaiine beata
Yivat, prefata, sanctorum sede locata.

Amen."

A fragment of the upper part of the scroll is broken, leaving a gap
in lines one and four, but these omissions are restored from Ihe
complete inscription given by Lysons. The feet of the effigy rest
on a defaced nondescript animal. Fixed to the wall above the monu-
ment is a slab with the following inscription : —
" Left by the Lady Constantia

" Five acres of land purchased for the purpose of ringing curfew
at Scarcliff for ever. Three acres and three roods now in the occu-
pation of John Coupe and let at the annual rent of three pounds
seven shillings and sixpence, and known by the names as follows —
Moor close, one acre three roods ; Twenty Lands, one acre and
eighteen perches ; and Honey Croft three roods and twenty-two

324 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

perches. Also one acre and one rood known by the name of Cock-
Stye now in the occupation of John Jeffrey and let at the annual
rent of one pound two shillings and sixpence, 1832."

This hequest of the Lady Constantia gave rise to the legend (for-
merly current with respect to the original of this monument), that
she and her infant lost their way in the neighbouring woods, and
were in danger of perishing from cold and fatigue, when the
welcome sound of the curfew bell of Scarcliffe church reached her
ear, and guided her to human habitations. In gratitude she left
this land, that the curfew bell might continue its daily toll for
ever.*

It has been assumed, and the assumption seems highly probable,
that this lady was one of the baronial family of Frecheville, who
had held for a time the manor of Scarcliffe. Anker de Frecheville,
about the year 1175, married the heiress of Hubert Fitz-Ralph,
and thus became possessed of the manor of Scarcliffe. His grand-
son of the same name, who also held Staveley, joined with the
rebellious barons at the close of Henry III. reign. In conjunction
with Simon de Montfort, Hugh de Spencer, and others, Anker de
Frecheville held the town and castle of Northampton. The king as
a requital seized his lauds at Scarcliffe, which were sequestered, and
divided between the Prior of Newstead and Eobert de Grey.f

We must now return to our description of the church. The only
other relic of the Early English period, that we saw, was the base
of a shaft or small pillar that now stands on the north side of the
churchyard. It was found, quite recently, built into the masonry
of the wall at the west end of the north aisle, when a doorway
was being pierced into a lean-to of the modern tower, originally
intended for a school-room.

The Decorated style is also represented on the north side of the
chancel by a two-light pointed window with trefoil head. Finally,
to make up the full complement of the styles, examples of the
Perpendicular period are to be found in the east window of the
chancel, and in the windows on each side of the small lancet-
shaped one in the south wall. The south side of the nave also
possesses a window of that date, but the rest of its light is obtained

*Bassano, writing in 1710, says of this monument, that it is in honour of a " queen
or lady, who, being big~with child and benighted, was by ye ringing of ye bells
brought to Scarcliffe, where she was delivered of a son, and both dyed in ye yeare
1000." He adds — " I could not read ye scroyle."

t Anker de Frecheville was seized of Scarcliffe 53 Henry III. (vide Inq. post Mort..
No. 20 of that reign). Two Inquisitions record the manor as held by the Prior of
Newstead— 16 Edw. I., No. 40 ; and 20 Hen. VI., No. 28.

SCARCLIFFE. 325

£1-0111 debased openings of post-Reformation date. The north aisle
is very narrow, being only six feet in width. It is lighted by three
plain square windows, and has above it the like number of small
clerestory windows.

In the east wall, at the end of this aisle, projects a stone bracket
for a saint, with a sculptured margin. High up in the south-east
corner is the doorway of the rood-loft, opening on to the nave.
There is no appearance of there having formerly been any stone
staircase leading up to this doorway ; wooden steps or a ladder were
probably here used, of which there is evidence to be found in certain
other churches. A small piscina in the south wall, at the eastern
end of the nave, points to the former existence of a second side
altar in this church.

The font, under the west gallery, is of a plain octagonal shape,
free from any ornament. The font itself, without the base, now
measures nineteen inches deep by twenty in diameter, but it has
lately been sensibly reduced in size, when being re-cleansed, pre-
paratory to occupying its original position. Its fate for many a
long year was to act as a support to one end of the lady's effigy
in the chancel; but its temporary successor, a basin mounted on a
pilaster, now lies disjointed amidst dirt and refuse at the bottom of
the tower. The font is surmounted by a pointed cover of oak, with
the year 1688 inscribed on one of the panels.

In the vestry is a large old chest, deserving of notice, if only for
its magnitude. The bottom, sides, and lid are made of four
massive planks of oak, ten feet long by two feet broad. It has
only one lock ; but several key-holes, now disused, show its superior
security in the days of its prosperity. On the lid, amongst various
scratches and incisions, are cut the initials F. H. and the year
1671, but it certainly numbers, unless we are much mistaken, more
years than two hundred. The Derbyshire traveller should compare
this chest with one under the tower of the almost crumbling, old,
out-of-the way church of Monyash, which is of the same dimensions,
and encircled with iron champs every three inches.

The old tower, which was surmounted by a spire, much re-
sembling, we were told, that which still ornaments the church of
Bolsover, was considered unsafe, and too far out of repair to allow
of restoration. Accordingly in 1842 it was taken down and a new
tower built. We feel sure that the improved taste, which the last
thirty years have brought about in matter- ecclesiastical, would
have caused the new tower (if the necessity for its removal existed)

326 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

to resemble as closely as possibly the former one ; nor would it
ever have permitted the present incongruous arrangement of masonry
to be put together. It appears, however, to be most substantially
built; and will, doubtless, for many a generation answer its main
purpose of providing an elevated perch for the bells. The bells are
four in number, and bear the following inscriptions : —

I. " Sancta Maria ora pro nobis." The inscription is in small
Gothic letters of rough workmanship. The bell-founder's mark con-
sists of a cross and the initials E. C. Shirland possesses a bell of
the same founder.

II. " God save his church. T. S. G. S. W. Bevill, W. Hall,
Wardens, 1698."

III. " Gloria in excelsis Deo. I.H.S." The founder's mark is a
shield bearing a filfot cross, with the initials E. H. (Ealph Heath-
cote) above it.

IV. The fourth has a rhyming legend in Lombardic characters : —

" Hinc venio retro

Cum silis noie Petro."
It also bears under a crown the initials E. B.

Though the sanctus beh1 has disappeared, the bell-cote on the
gable of the nave still remains. The inside measurement of the
niche is about two feet by one.

The inhabitants of Scarcliffe must have been much devoted to the
science of bell ringing ; for, when the common lands were enclosed
in 1726, four acres were set apart, the rent of which was to pro-
vide the parish with bell-ropes.

It does not appear that the gift of the church of Scarcliffe to
Darley Abbey implied more in the first instance than the gift of
the advowson. The Taxation Roll of 1291 describes Scarcliffe as
an "ecclesia" (not a vicarage) worth £12 per annum. But the
rectorial tithes were subsequently appropriated to the abbot and
canons, and Scarcliffe made a vicarage. From the endowment of
the vicarage, in the chartulary of the abbey, it seems that the
vicar of Scarcliffe held all the obventions of the altar (except the
chief mortuary), and the tithes of lambs and wool. When the
Valor Ecclesiasticus of Henry VIII. was taken, Thomas Peace held
the vicarage of Scarcliffe, which is described as being worth £5 a
year, inclusive of an augmentation of 40s. from the abbey of
Darley. At the time of the dissolution of the monasteries, Sir
Francis Leake obtained a considerable share of the spoils in this
part of the county. Amongst other matters Henry VIII granted

SCARCL1FFU. 327

to him the rectory of Scarcliffe, and also Scarcliffe Grange, then
in the possession of William and John Pearse. In addition to the
rectorial tithes, Sir Francis Leake thus came into possession of
eighty-nine acres and two tofts in Scarcliffe, as well as the advow-
son of the Vicarage.* The Commissioners of the Commonwealth
estimated the living at twenty marks per annum, adding that " one
Dodson officiates, very scandalous."

Of the ancient chapel at Palterton not a trace remains ; and there
is hardly any historical mention of its existence, beyond the fact
that it was given by Hubert Fitzralph to the abbey of Darley. Dr.
Pegge, however, says that it was dedicated to St. Leonard, and
this may have made some confusion between the dedication of the
chapel and the mother church. t

* Patent Roll, 36 Henry VIII, Pt. 21, No. 760. For a copy of this grant we are in-
debted to the Rev. A. T. Blytlie, Vicar of Scarcliffe.
t Pegge's Collections, Vol. IV.

irlenb.

[HE earliest mention of the church of Shirland in connec-
tion with the manor, is in the first year of the reign of
Edward II. (1307), when Reginald de Grey, who possessed
the manor, held also the advowson of the church. It is more than
probable, however, that a church existed on this manor (if not on
the actual site of the present one) previous to this date ; for in the
year 1250 John de Grey obtained a grant for a market in this
manor on Wednesdays, and a fair for three days at the festival of
St. Peter ad vinciila ; and we may safely assume that a place, which
was of sufficient importance to be a market town, would also have
been in possession of a church for many years. In fact the manor
was in the possession of the Grey family as early as the reign of
King John, and shortly became the chief residence of one branch
of this important family, who were afterwards termed de Wilton,
from the principal seat of their barony. The great families of those
days were never without a church on the estate of their residence,
so that there is good reason to believe that a church was here
erected in the days of John (1199-1216). The manor of Shirlaud,
to which the advowson of the church continued to be attached,
remained in the Grey family tiU the middle of the reign of
Edward IV., when the estate was sold to Talbot, Earl of Shrews-
bury.:: In the seventeenth century, when the manor was divided
among the heirs general of that family, it was arranged that the
r- -i>ective holders of the moieties should present to the living in
rotation.

Though the patron saint of this church is, without doubt, St.
Leonard, the village wakes depend upon the festival of St. James.

* There are numerous entries in the Iiiq. post Mort. rolls to the manor of Shir-
land and the Greys. The earliest we have noted is of John Grey in the reign of
lli'iiry III., and the last of Margaret, wife of Hichi'.rd Grey de VS'ehon, who had
Shirland assigned to her as her (lower, in the 30th year of Henry VI.

332 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

St. James' day (July 25th), regulates also the wakes at Alfretcm
and other adjacent parishes, but we are not at present in pos-
session of any data to account for this somewhat unusual occur-
rence. There are three other churches in Derbyshire dedicated
to St. Leonard, viz., Thorpe, Monyash, and Scarcliffe. The memory
of this humble-minded hermit seems to have been formerly re-
garded with much favour in England, for more than one hundred
and forty churches still retain their dedications in his name.

The church consists of a nave, side aisles, chancel, tower at the
west end, and south porch. The general aspect of the present
building shows that it is all of one style — the Perpendicular. The
parapets are throughout embattled, and the tower is also orna-
mented with four crocketed pinnacles. The windows do not call
for any particular remark, and are all square-headed except the
east window of the chancel. The pointed roof of the porch is
formed of stone and supported by ribs of the same material — a
feature which is eminently characteristic of the Derbyshire porches
of this date, more especially in the northern division of the county.
Over the doorway is a plain square recess or niche, of small dimen-
sions, once doubtless occupied by a figure of St. Leonard. The
side aisles are separated from the nave on each side by three
pointed arches, supported by octagon pillars having plain capitals.
Beneath the tower is a western gallery, but as it does not project
into the body of the church it can hardly be regarded as an eye-
sore, more especially as the west window, which is not of large
dimensions (having a doorway below it), is not in the least obscured.

We are inclined to place the date of the present edifice about
the middle of the fifteenth century ; and when we find that the
manor of Shirlaud was purchased by the Shrewsbury family in
the reign of Edward IV. (1461-1483), we feel little doubt that
Shirland owes its well-proportioned church to that family, who
would naturally look to the rebuilding of the church on their coming
into the estate.

In the north wall of the chancel is a fine monumental recess, of
greater age than the present building. The recess itself is eight
feet in length and fifteen inches deep. The top slab is now only
a piece of gritstone, but the front one is of alabaster, and adorned
in relief with twenty-one escutcheons (originally twenty-two), many
of them much mutilated. It is covered by an ogee-shaped arch
with cinquefoil cuspings, ornamented with crockets and finials.
Beneath this canopy there was formerly an effigy of a knight in
armour.

SHIRLAND. 333

In the June number of the Gentleman's Magazine, for the year
1793, is a short account of the church of Shirland. A brief des-
cription is given of this monument together with an engraving,
from which it appears that the centre portion of an effigy in plate
armour then remained. All trace of this has now disappeared, and
we think that the depth of the recess must have been greater than
it now is, when it accommodated an effigy. When Lysous visited
this church about 1814, there were some " mouldering remains " of
this effigy, and the sexton attributed it to the family of Withering-
ton.* It is clear, however, from the armorial bearings that this is
a memorial to one of the Grey family, and it seems very probable
that it is to the special memory of Sir Henry Grey, who was sum-
moned to Parliament as a Baron in the fiftieth year of the reign
of Edward III., by the style of Henry Grey de Shirland, Chevalier.
He died in 1396. The connection of the Greys with Shirland origi-
nated in the reign of John. In 1212 Sir Henry de Grey of Turroc,
in Essex, held " six knights' fees of the honour of Peverel, which
came to the king by escheat in the counties of Derby and Notting-
ham, viz., in Henoure one, in Normauton one, in Shirland one,
in Codenoure and Touton one, in Eadcliff one, and Beeley one."
Sir Henry's eldest son Richard, settled at Codnor, and became the
ancestor of the Greys of Codnor, the last of whom died without
issue in 1496. To the second son, John, the estates at Shirland were
bequeathed. He was ancestor of that branch, who were afterwards
usually called Lords Grey of Wilton, though they had for some
generations an important seat at Shirland. These two brothers,
Richard and John, were staunch upholders of King John in his con-
tention with the barons, and also of his successor, Henry III., from
both of whom they obtained many favours. We are told that in
the thirty-sixth year of Henry III. that monarch " called all the
Londoners together and bade the bishops excite them to take a
voyage with him to the Holy Laud, when but few of them would go ;
to this. Richard, and John his brother, readily consented, and the king
ki^-i (1 them and called them his brothers." This was two years after
he had granted to John the charter for the market at Shirland, or
rather at Higham. Reginald, whom we have already mentioned as
holding the advowson of the church that his grandfather had pro-
bably held before him, was the eldest son of John de Grey. Regi-
nald also held the adjacent manor of Stretton. He was frequently
at the court of Edward I., and when that king left the realm for

* Lysons' Collections. Add. MSS. 9463.

334 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

bis expedition into Flanders, he specially nominated Lord Reginald
Grey as one of the prince's counsellors. Sir Henry Grey de Shir-
land was his immediate descendant.*

Amongst those shields on the monument which can still he de-
ciphered, are two charges that were borne by different branches
of the Grey family — a barry of six, in chief three torteaux ; and a
lion rampant within a border engrailed. Other charges are a plain
barry of six ; a barry of six with label of five points ; three piles
meeting in base a canton, ermine; ermine, a chevron; a saltirc,
engrailed, &c. None of the tinctures can now be traced, though
the colours were doubtless originally depicted on the marble.

Dr. Pegge, in notes taken about a century ago, gives a descrip-
tion of these escutcheons, premising that they had then been much
disfigured with whitewash. To this description, divided into two
rows of eleven each, we have added, in brackets, the families to
which they probably belonged ; but it is impossible to ascertain this
in many instances, owing to the absence of the proper tinctures.

" Upper Eow : —

" 1. A bend cotized between 6 lions rampant. t

" 2. Per fess dauncette.J

" 3. Three bezants and label of 5 points (Gourtenay).

"4. A chevron.

" 5. Quarterly, 1st a bendlet, 2nd frette, 3rd as 2nd, 4th as 1st.

" 6. Barry of 6 (Grey of Codiior).

" 7.- Barry of 6, a label of five points (Grey of Shirland).

" 8. Barry of 6, on the chief bar 3 bezants (Grey, Earl of Kent).

" 9. Barry of 6, a bendlet (Grey of Eotherfield).

" 10. A lion rampant within bordure engrailed (Talbot).

" 11. A saltire engrailed (Botetourt).

" Lower Row : —

" 1. Barry of 6, label of 5 points (Grey of Shirland).

" 2. Three piles meeting in base, a canton ermine (Bryan).

" 3. A cross fleury.

" 4. A bend between 6 martlets (Furnival).

" 5. Barry of 6, on the alternate 6 fleur-de-lis, 3, 2, 1 (Hailard).

" 6. Barry of 6, over all a bend charged (Poyuings).

* There is a good account of the Greys of Codnor in Glover's Derbyshire (vol. ii.,
pp. 308-312).

t These arms we did not decipher on the monument, and the only ' bend cotised
that we noticed appeared to be between two double-headed eagles displayed.

J This coat might belong to nearly a dozen different families, according to the
tinctures, but we have not been able to connect it with one that would account for
its presence on this monument.

SHIRLAND. 335

" 7. Ermine, a chevron (Tuchet, Baron Audley, who held estates
at Markeaton).

" 8. Barry of 6, a bend chequy (Sir M. Poynings).

" 9. Barry of 6, a bendlet (Grey of Rotherfield).

"10. Barry of G, a bend engrailed (Roos).

" 11. A fess between 2 chevrons (Grey of Norfolk)."*

It will be noted that a considerable number of these shields
bear the arms of different branches of the Greys ; and the others,
that we have identified, all represent families with which the Greys
were intermarried in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Num-
ber ten in the upper row is the coat of Henry Grey's wife, Eliza-
beth, daughter of Thomas Lord Talbot ; whilst number eleven is
the coat of his mother Maud, who was the daughter and co-heiress
of John Botetourt of Weoby. With respect to the lower row,
Robert de Grey, of Codnor, married Elizabeth, daughter and co-heiress
of Sir Guy de Bryan (number two), and their daughter and sole
heiress married Richard Lord Poynings (number six), who died 10
Richard II. John de Grey, of Rotherfield, married, 85 Edward III.,
Elizabeth, daughter of Sir M. Poyuings. The other intermarriages
here represented, took place at an earlier date.t

On the opposite wall of the chancel is fixed a slab of alabaster,
three feet by two, on which are carved four kneeling figures. Each
figure kneels upon a tasselled hassock in front of a small desk, upon
which lies an open book. The two figures to the left are women
in long mantles, with square-cut dress and close-fitting sleeves.
From the front of the girdle hangs a chain bearing a round orna-
ment, or pomander box for containing scent. The other two are
men wearing wide mantles with hanging sleeves. Above the desk,
that is on the extreme right, is placed an upright cross. In the
article of last century in the Gentleman's Magazine, to which we
have already referred, a sketch is also given of this memorial, and
it is described as being on the same side of the chancel as the
monument of Sir Henry Grey. During the restoration of this
church, a few years ago, a new vestry was built, which opens into
the chancel on the south side ; and this seems to have necessitated
its removal to the opposite wall. The slab is destitute of any in-
scription, or armorial device, but it has been conjectured that it is
to the memory of certain members of the Grey family, and we

*Pegge's Collections, vol. iv., and vol. v., p. 153.

t liuuks' Dormant and Extinct Peerages, vol. ii.. p. 230. etc. Harl. MSS. 0589 and
6317.

336 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

have alluded to its former position as slightly confirmatory of this
supposition. Dr. Pegge is inclined to assign it to the memory of
Keginald Grey, who died 1 Edward II., his wife Maud, and their
children, John and Joan.

There are no other objects of interest in the chancel, and it lacks
even any trace of a piscina, but against the right-hand pillar of the
archway, as we return into the nave, should he noticed a small
desk bearing a copy of Jewell's Apology attached to it by the original
chain fastening. It is a folio copy of the year 1609. This cele-
brated work was ordered to be placed in every parish church of
the kingdom. The only other copy that we have met with in the
churches of the Hundred of Scarsdale, is one bearing the date 1569,
which is in a chest in the upper vestry at Dronfield.

Under the east window of the north aisle is affixed a large
alabaster table-tomb. On the top slab two full-length figures are
incised. Eound the margin of this stone runs a much-worn black
letter inscription. The further side of this monument is built into
the wall, so that the commencement of the inscription is wanting,
but the lost part appears to have been only of a formal character.
The following is as accurate a copy as we could obtain from the
margin of the three sides : — Jokes Revdl de Shirlande miV qui obiit
die Novembris Anno Dni, MCCCGG tricesimo sept imo et Harga.reta
uxor ejus obiit die Mensis Ano Dni MCCCCC quorum animarurn pro-
pitietur Deus. Amen. This inscription shows, from the omission of
the date, that the monument was erected before the death of the
wife. Dr. Pegge (who gives this inscription but in a slightly varied
form, and reading 'vicessirno' instead of ' tricessirno'), commented
on the fact of no spaces being left for the insertion of the date
of the wife's death, which he attributes to the ignorance of the
designer. The knight is represented without helmet or gauntlets,
and in plate armour, but a skirt of mail shows below the cuirass.
On his feet, which rest upon a dog, are the wide-toed sabbatons,
with small rowel spurs attached. His sword is suspended from
the left side. The lady wears a long flowing mantle, but the arms
are in close-fitting sleeves, gathered into small knots on the lower
edge, and terminating in wide cuffs. The head is adorned with
the pedirnented head-dress, with the front lappets turned in towards
the face. Beneath the knight, are the small incised figures of three
boys ; beneath the lady, five girls. The west side of this monument
has consisted of three panels worked into quatrefoils with a shield
in the centre of each, but one has gone, and its place is now filled

SHIRLAND. 337

up with a plain square of stone. The escutcheons, like the rest of
the monument, are battered and much the worse for wear, but one
bears on a chevron three quatrefoils pierced (Eyre), and the other
the same charge repeated, impaling what appears to be chequy,
on two bars, two water bougets. On the south end there are also
two shields, one the same as the first mentioned on the west side,
the other the arms usually assigned the Derbyshire Revels : — Arg.,
on a chevron, git., three trefoils, erm., within a border engrailed, sa.
There are two more escutcheons on the slab at the north end, but
they are now destitute of any device.

The ancient family of Kevel came into this county from War-
wickshire. John Revel, the first who came into Derbyshire, settled
at Ogston in the fourteenth century. William Eevel, the last heir
male of this branch, died in 1706 ; his sisters and co-heirs married
Turbutt and Jenkinson. Hugh Revel, a younger brother of the
above-mentioned John, settled at Carlingthwaite, Carnthwaite, or
Carufield, as it is now called, in South Normanton. The legitimate
line of this branch, also, became extinct in the seventeenth cen-
tury.

From the Chantry Roll we find that a chantry was founded in
this church by the Revel family in the fifteenth century.

" SHYRLANDE. Thos. Revell of Hygham by wyll ij Aprill A.D.
MCCCC Ixx iiij bequethed C marks for the byenge of lands for a
prests wags to synge and saye masse perpetuallye for his soule, etc.
Roberte Revell by Wyll xij Maye, Miiu'ciiijxxxv. willed the issues of
his londs in Thathwayte, and in the will to fynde a prest to syng
in the chappell of Shyrland. Viii li. iiij s. clere iiii li. Christ.
Haslam Chaplyn. He hath a chambre by thappoynment of Rob.
Revell. He occupieth j chalys and ij vestments whc be Mr. Revells."

The further provision made for the repose of the souls of the
Revel family, we find specified in the wills of the sons of the
founders among the Woolley MSS. Robert, eldest son of the
founder of the chantry, by will dated 12th of May, 1490 (and not
1495, as in the . Chantry Roll), gave "issues and profits of ah1 his
lands in Thathwayte and the Hill (North Wiufield), to fynd a priest
to say and singe masse in the churche of Sherlaude by the space
of foure score and nineteen yeares, and if a mortmayue mought be
gotten in the meantime then to continue for ever or else be sold."*
And again, a few years later, his brother and heir, Hugh, the
second son of the founder, made an elaborate will, dated 15th May,

*Add. MSS. GG67, f. 138.

338 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

1504, containing several curious provisoes relative to the cliurch of
Shirland.

The great caprice that was shown in the spelling of those times
is strikingly apparent in this literal excerpt : —

" I Hugh Eevell hole of ruynde and seke in body make rny
testament in manner and forme foloyng, first I beqweth my soule to
Almighty God, our lady, hys blessed modir, and all the company
of heven, and my body to be bered in the parishe chvrche of Saint
Leonard of Shyrlaund besyde my wyff, and for my principale * my
best gwyk (quick) beest accordyng to the custom of the countre,
also I beqweth to the parson of the sayde chyrche for tithes negli-
gently forgotten xs. Item, I beqweth to the wardens of the said
chirch xs. to be a banner cloth of Saint George with a shaft to
beyr hit on. Item, I beqweth to the saide wardens xls. to ii. vest-
ments and xs. to be a masse boke. Item, I will and beqweth to
my executors xx/i. to be ii. marble stones to cover the bodies of
my father and my modir and my wife and those to be made as
gudley as that money will suffyce be the advise of my executours.
Also I will that my feoffes of ah1 my lands and tenements doo dayly
and yearly find and cause to be fonde two prestes to say and syiig
divine servyce in the saide Chirch of Shyrlaud for the soules of my
fadir and my modir, my soule, and wyff s soule, my brother Eobt.
soule, the soule of Roger Freke, my brdir and my systers soules,
my kynnesfolks soules, the soules of all our benefactors, and all
Crysten soules, and those ii. prests to be~ fonde of and with the
issues revenues and proffets of my lauds and rents in Egstowe
Goselands lying in Shyrlaund, Thathwayt with all my houses lands
and tenements in the same, and ii. houses leying in the Hyll within
the pishe of North Wynfeld with the appertenanees, whereof one is
in the holding of William Ludnaru and an odir is in the holdyng of
Rob. Alkoe with a rode off lands leying in the est end of Shyrland
Chyrch within the park to byld a Chantre howse upon."t The
will continues at great length to give the appointment of these
priests, first to his son Tristram ; in default of Tristram making the
appointment, to his second son Rowland ; thirdly to the Abbot of
Darley ; and fourthly, as the last eventuality, to the Mayor of
Nottingham.

* A " principal " was the old legal term for an heirloom. According to the cus-
tom of certain manors, some special object was never inveutorised after the decease
of the owner amongst his other chattels, but accrued to the heir. At Shirland it
appears that the best beast held this position, on other manors we read of the best
bed, best table, &c.

t Add. MSS. 6667, f, 64. " Sir John Dawson, parson of Shirlaund," was one of the
executors of this will.

siIIKLAXD. o39

To an early volume of the Eelitjuary, another interesting document
was contributed, by the late Mr. Thomas Bateman; from which it
appears, that in the reign of Elizabeth, a Eoyal Commission was
appointed to enquire about the Chantry at Shirland. The Com-
missioners were Sir John Manners, Sir John Havpur, Sir Brian
Lascelles, Sir Eobert Eyre, Edward Stevenson, and Thurstaii
Bainford. Amongst the principal queries they were to solve were
the following. "Was there any house called the Chantry House '?
Was there any land at Upton alias Tupton, Shetland, or Swath-
wike alias Thautwayte belonging to the Chantry ? •' Whether do
ye know or have credibly herd saye that about the tyrne of the
dissolution of Chaun tries that one — Eevell then of Sherland entred
uppon the possessione of the said Chaun trye and took the Chauntry
preist or preists to his house to board, and presently uppoii the
same toke in ah1 suche leases as wear made by the said Chauntry
preist or preists and grantes newe leases in his owne name to suche
as had them before of the Chauntry preist or preists ? If he or
they did, to whom wear such lease or leases made?" And also to
inquire whether a witness Beardall had perjured himself, and
acknowledged it when dying?

The Eevel Chantry was at the end of the north aisle. There are
no piscinas in either aisle, but a recess in the wall at the east end
of the south aisle may have been used as an ahnery, and points
to the former existence of another side altar in that position.

According to the Eevel pedigree in the Visitation of 1611, Thomas
Eevel, who founded the chantry, married Alice, daughter and co-
heiress of Dowrnan of Higham. Of the issue of this marriage was
Eobert, who died without issue, Hugh Eevel of " Carenthway "
(Carnthwaite, Carnford), and John Eevel of Ogston, who married
Margaret, daughter and sole heiress of " Eoger North of Boben-
hill." : From the last marriage came John Eevel, who took to
wife Margaret, daughter of "Eobert Eyre of Northwells " (North
Lees), whose monument we have described at the end of the north
aisle. Of their three sons and five daughters portrayed on the
monument, it is probable that the greater part died in their infancy ;
at ah1 events we cannot find them mentioned in any Visitation.
The only one named is Eobert Eevel, who married Eleanor,
daughter and heiress of Anker Frecheville of Staveley.*

* Harl. MSS. 1093, f. 88. Robert Eyre, of North Lees, was the son of William
K viv of the same place, who was the second son of Nicholas Eyre of Hope. Eobert
married Margaret, daughter of Inkersell of Brimiugton (Mitchell's Collections, Add.
MSS. 28,113, f. 70). We are still at a loss to explain the impaled coat of Eyre and
, at the north end of the Revel tomb, which we think has been incorrectly ren-
dered by the sculptor. One branch of the family of Roos bore— a fess chequy, be-
tween two water bougets, but this does not appear any help in the identification.

340 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

In the clerestory windows, abo've the arches of the nave, a few
fragments of old glass have been preserved. One of these windows
on the south side contains a portion of a black letter inscription,
the name "Joins" being clearly distinguishable. Another on the
north side has the words " pro bono statu," thus pointing to the
former existence of one or more memorial windows in this church.

The tower contains a peal of five bells. Three of them are
dated, but have no founder's mark. They bear the following in-
scriptions : — "God save his Church, 1G18": "God save His Church,
1710": and " Floreat ecclesia, MDCCXIII." A fourth is inscribed
with the favourite legend " Jesus be our speed." Below the shoulder
are the initial letters H. D. beautifully wrought on each side of the
founder's mark. The founder's mark consists of a Latin cross with
a circle round the base between the letters E. M., each of which
is surmounted with a crown. This is the device attributed to
Eichard Mellour of Nottingham. The one we describe last is un-
doubtedly the oldest, bearing an inscription which points to Catholic
days, " Sancti Johes ora pro nobis." This inscription is in small
Gothic letters of rude execution. The component letters of two of
the words are widely separated. The bell-founder's mark is difficult
to describe without an engraving, but it principally consists of a
cross between the initials E. C. There is the same mark on a
bell at Scarcliffe, which also bears a similar inscription, " Maria "
being substituted for " Johes."

On the stones that cover the recesses of the east and west bell-
chamber windows may be noticed the marks of an incised cross.
On measuring, we ascertained that these two stones had formerly
made a single slab about six feet long by two broad. It is a plain
incised cross with a pedimented base, the ends of the limbs being
slightly floriated. There is a space of four inches between the two
parallel lines which form the stem. This points to the existence of
an earlier church here, for this memorial slab appears to belong to
the thirteenth century.

The exterior of the east end of the chancel should not escape
observation. The general appearance shows that much of the wall
has belonged to an earlier building, probably of the Decorated period.
The base stone of the east window, which is now filled with late
Perpendicular tracery, is older than the mullions which spring
from it.

The church of Shirland was valued at .£6 13s. 4d. in the Taxa-
tion Eoll of Pope Nicholas IV., taken in 1291. The following are

SHIRLAND. 341

the particulars of the endowments of this rectory from the Valor
JScdeiicuticut, 27 Henry VIII. : —

SHIRLAXD RECTORIA.
Geoi'gius comes Salopie Patronus ibidem.

Doiniuus Thomas Alanus rector ibidem habet in communibus annis at sequitur.

In primis in mansioiie cum douio coluuibina cum gleba - - xvij

Item iu duobus croftis --------- iij

Item in decimis feni --------- xx

Item in decimis lane et agnellorum ------ xxij

Item iu oblationibus --------- xij

Item in paschali rotulo -------- xxviij

Item iu decimis garbarum --------iij

Item in decimis minutis videlicet in porcellis anceribus canabo

et lino ----------- iiij

Summa - - viij vj
Uude resoluta arcnidiacono Derbie pro scenagio et procuragio x vij

De claro vij xv v

Decinia inde - xv vj ob'

The Parliamentary Commissioners, of 1650, valued the living at
£5G, and were unusually complimentary to the incumbent, Mr. John
Payne, whom they reported to he " honest and able."

Many of the presentations to benefices during the time of the
Commonwealth are preserved amongst the manuscripts at Lambeth
Palace. Here we found the original presentation to Shirland,
written on half a sheet of foolscap, and signed and sealed by Geo.
Savile. It runs as follows : — " To all persons who have or shah1
have sufficient authority in this behalf greeting, — I, Sir George
Savile, of Thomhill in the county of York, Barronett, the true and
undoubted Patron of the Rectory of Shirland in the county of
Derby, doe present Joseph Stock, late minister at Ottley in the
county of York, to the said Rectory, being now voyd, and to my
presentation of full rights belonging, Desiring you to adrnitt the
sayd Joseph Stock to the Rectory of Shirland aforesayd, and to
invest him Rector there, and that you likewise invest him with all
rights, members, and appurtenances whatsoever. In witness whereof
I have set my hand and seall the 29 day of September, 1G56."*

From a copy of the Terrier of Shirland, of the date of October,
1795, we take the following quaint item: — "Item, the parson of
Shu-laud receives from Sam. Liudley, of Toadhole Furnace, which
his predecessors have paid before him time beyond the memory of
man, a fat goose at Christmas, and a good gammon of bacon at
Easter, "t

* Add. MSS. 6G71, f. 533.
t Lambeth MSS. 944, No. 28.

jT the time of the Domesday Survey, the manor of Staveley
was held by Ascuit (or Hasculphus) Musard, and there
was then a church arid a priest on the manor. The
manor, together with the advowson of the church, remained in that
family for nine generations.* Ascuit' s son, Richard, held both
church and manor in their entirety, but his grandson, also named
Ascuit, gave " to God and the blessed poor of the Hospital of St.
John of Jerusalem, half the Church of Staveley." This deed is
witnessed, amongst others, by Eichard, Bishop of Coventry, which
gives us the approximate date, for he held that see from 1162 —
1182. We ascertain subsequently, that this "half of the church"
did not refer to the advowson, but to the rectorial tithes, hah* of
which thus remained alienated from Staveley, till the dissolution
of the estates of the Knights Hospitallers. We have direct proof,
from the various Inquisitions, etc., that each of the subsequent
heirs of the Musard estates, Ralph (I.), Robert, Ralph (II.), Ralph
(III.), and John, held also the advowson of the church of Staveley.
This brings us to Nicholas, Baron Musard, the last of the heirs
male. He was heir to his nephew John, who died s. p. Nicholas
had been presented to the rectory, or rather half rectory of Staveley,
by his father, Ralph Musard (II.) Nicholas had several children,
but as he was in orders they could not inherit,t and, therefore, on
his death, in the 29th year of Edward I., the estates were divided
between his three sisters and their issue. The eldest sister, Amicia,
had been married to Anker de Frecheville, Baron of Crich, but they

* The fourth volume of Nichols' Collectanea contains an elaborate pedigree of the
Musard and Frecheville families, with detailed evidence. As we have drawn the
greater part of our information respecting the connection of these two families with
Staveley from this source, we refer our readers to those pages for the authorities
consulted. We have, however, been able to glean some additional details, that are
not to be found even in those apparently exhaustive papers.

t " Nota, qxiod predictus Nichus fuit Rector Ecclesie de Staveley, et proles nomi-
nata fuere oinnes bastard!."— Lansd. MSS. 207, f. 171.

316 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

both had died before Nicholas, so that her share came to her sou,
Ealph Frecheville. The second sister, Margaret, was the wife of
John de Hiberuia, and their heir was a son of the same name.
The husband of the third sister, Isabella, is not known, but her
daughter and heiress was married to "William de Chellardestone
(or Chellaston). Not only was the manor of Staveley thus divided
into three, but the advowson of the church was similarly shared.

But this tripartite division of the church did not long continue ;
for an Inquisition, taken at Staveley 9 Edward II., records the
granting to Ealph Frecheville by his cousin, John de Hibemia, of
his moiety of both manor and church.* Ealph Frecheville thus
became possessed of two-thirds of the advowson. At that time the
church was said to be worth six marks yearly in all its issues.

A few years later (1325) there was a vacancy in the rectory of
Staveley, and a dispute arose as to the right of presentation.
Ealph Frecheville, and Margaret his wife, claimed the presentation,
but John Cromwell, and Idonea his wife, denied the right, and
alleged — that Ealph Frecheville, when the church was vacant on
the death of Nicholas, presented Eobert de Woodhouse ; that on the
next vacancy, through resignation, in the reign of Edward II.,
Ealph Frecheville, as holding the second moiety by the grant of
John de Hibernia, presented John de Horton ; and that William de
Chellaston, and Joanna his wife, had made over their hereditary
rights to the third moiety of the advowson, etc., to Walter de
Langton ; Walter de Langton in his turn to Eobert de Clifford ; and
that finally Eobert de Clifford had granted it to John Cromwell,
and his wife Idonea, for the term of the wife's life.f

But though the second moiety speedily came into the hands of
Frecheville, the remaining third of the advowson continued with
the Cliffords for more than two centuries, as can be proved by
numerous Inquisitions and other documents of each successive reign.
Finally, on the attainder of John, Lord Clifford, this third portion
of the manor and church was forfeited to the Crown, and granted
by Edward IV. to Sir John Pilkington. It seems to have been
again escheated, for Henry VIII., in 1544, granted it to Sir Francis
Leake, who in the next year conveyed it to Sir Peter Frecheville.
Sir Peter thus became possessed of the whole advowson, as he
previously held the other two-thirds by inheritance.

Sir Ealph Frecheville, who married one of the co-heiresses of

*Add. MSS., 6,697, f. 56.

t Plac. de Banco, t. Mich. 19 Edw. II., rot. 97. Nichol's Collectanea, vol. iv., p. 28.

STAVELEY. 347

Musanl, was summoned to Parliament as a Baron in the 29th year
of Edward I. ; but the like honour does not appear to have been
repeated to his descendants for several generations. Staveky was
the chief seat of this powerful family. Sir Peter Frecheville, of
Staveley, was knighted in the reign of Edward VI. for his services
at the battle of Musselborough ; and his great grandson, Sir John
Frecheville, who did signal service for Charles I. as a staunch
Royalist, was at the Kestoratiou created a peer, under the title of
Lord Frecheville, of Staveley. In 1681, a year before his death,
he sold the estate, together with the patronage of the church, to
the family of Cavendish. He died at the age of 76, and was the
la^t of that ancient family.

The church, which is dedicated to St. John the Baptist, consists
of nave, chancel, north and south aisles, south porch, and tower at
the west end. The south aisle is also continued parallel with the
chancel, thus forming the Frecheville chantry. Very considerable
alterations and additions were made at the time of the recent
restoration. The church previously had no north aisle, and the
present one is spacious and admirably designed, the windows being
filled with tracery of the Decorated period, in precise imitation of
some of those that adorn the highly interesting church of Dorches-
ter, hi Oxfordshire. The chancel, too, was thoroughly restored in
the same style, and a much higher pitch given to ah1 the roofs.
The old porch, in a ruinous condition, had been removed some five-
aud- twenty years ago, and a new one now occupies its place. The pre-
vious one, from an engraving of the church given in the Gentleman' a
J/(/'/"~'«f for 1820, appeal's to have been erected (in place, doubtless,
of a still older one) hi the seventeenth century, and had a square
sun dial over the doorway. The tower, too, was considerably
strengthened by Iron stays, and otherwise repaired during the
restorations ; but the whole alterations were admirably carried out,
and there was as little interference as possible with old details.
There is, therefore, no difficulty in ascertaining the precise extent
of the alterations. Of the church, as it existed when the Domesday
Survey was taken, there is now no trace extant ; unless it be in
the fragments of incised slabs, that are worked up in the window-
sills of two of the windows of the south aisle. These stones
appear to be the oldest in the building, and may possibly be
among the very earliest sepultures. The font, too, which is Norman,
might by some be attributed to a date as early as the Domesday
Survey, and it would be interesting to think that the original

348 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

stone was now in use ; but to us it appears, from comparing it
with other specimens, to be about a century later, i.e., of the
latter half of the twelfth century. This fine specimen of an early
font, unique in several of its details, was happily rescued of late
from an ignominious position in the grounds of the old rectory. The
font stands three feet high, and the base eighteen inches. The top
part is circular, but bevilled down round the lower edge, and at
one of the angles thus formed is a man's head with a forked beard,
wearing a crown fleury, from the centre of which rises a brush-
like erection. The central support is a large round pillar, but it is
further supported at each angle, by four small columns only two-
aud-a half inches in diameter. The basin of the font is circular,
two feet two inches in diameter, and ten inches deep. We may
here mention, that in a cottage garden, within a stone's throw of
the church, is a small circular stone basin, about a foot in diame-
ter, richly carved with four cherubs' heads in high relief, and with
five-leafed flowers between. It is now filled with moss, and broken
from its base ; and, though much knocked about, is a nice piece of
carving of the Kenaissauce style, probably about the date of the
Frecheville window, ^^re think it likely that this basin at one time
served as font to the church, though a plainer marble basin was
removed to make way for the original one, now so happily restored
to its proper place.

Of the Early English period, that followed after the Norman,
there are not many traces ; but the basement of the tower, with its
irregular buttresses, appears to have been then originally designed ;
and the remains of a small lancet window of that date, and other
details, were found when recently removing the obstructions that
separated the chantry from the south aisle. Nor must we omit to
attribute to this period the south doorway, the jambs of which are
ornamented with capitals of well-defined foliage, unmistakably
pointing out the Early English style. A new head to this doorway
had to be found at the time of the alterations. The soiith aisle is
separated from the nave by five pointed arches, supported by four
octagon pillars, with plainly moulded capitals and bases. These
are of the Decorated period, but are not of a precisely similar date,
the two nearest the west end being the oldest. Two low arches,
with an octagon pillar of a similar style, divide the chancel from
the chantry. The interesting discovery was made above these
arches, during the recent alterations, of a row of five small cleres-
tory windows, so unusual in a chancel. These windows, of three

STAVELEY. 349

lights each, had been effectually built up, but are now again used
to give light. Perhaps this blocking up of the clerestory windows
was not an offence of very long standing, for we learn from the
Collections of Dr. Pegge, that much of the chancel was pulled down
and rebuilt in 1786. At that time a stone was found in the wall
with " a chevron ermine between three St. Andrew crosses," being
the arms of Greenwood ; and Pegge adds that he has failed to ni,d
any connection between this family and Staveley, unless it may
have been that a Greenwood was once rector.* Bassano, too, in
his notes (circa 1710) says that " at the east end of the chancel,
on a cross of stone, is a crucifix;" but whether this was within or
without he fails to say. In the late or debased Perpendi-
cular style the church underwent much alteration; indeed this
must have been the general feature of the church previous to its
restoration, with its low-pitched roofs and pinnacled embattlements.
The windows on the south side of the church, both to the chantry
and south aisle, are now all of this period, being square-headed
windows of three lights, with but little or no tracery. The upper
part of the tower, with the belfry windows, is also of late
Perpendicular, though not so late as the battlements and small
pinnacles, which bear the date on the south front, cut plainly into
the stone, of 1G81. A doorway should also be noticed, with a
round -head, into the chantry on the south side; the door of which
has the year 1696 marked upon it in large-headed nails. An en-
graving by Malcolm, of Staveley Hall, gives also an east view of
the church, and the tower is represented as surmounted in the
centre by a small octagon spire, or rather spirelet, apparently made
of wood coated with lead, after the fashion of the "extinguisher"
on Wirksworth Parish Church. Our confidence, however, in the
accuracy of this representation, is shaken, by the fact that Malcolm
altogether omits the battlements, which must have then existed.

To revert to the interior of the church — before the restoration, it
was disfigured by three galleries, one over the south aisle, one
blocking up the fine archway into the tower at the west end, and
another small singing gallery, strange to say, across the chancel
archway. The chancel was then partitioned off from the nave by
a substantial screen, with windows and door in it; over which was
this third gallery. This gallery must have been the successor of
the old rood-loft that stood in a similar position, but from what we
can gather, it had little or none of the old woodwork, or any ap-

* Pegge's Parochial Collections, vol. iv. , Staveley.

350 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

pearance of antiquity about it. A letter of the Eev. Fletcher Dixon,
dated October, 1816, says — "the rood-loft at Staveley, which re-
mained pretty entire since the Reformation, was taken down about
twenty-five years ago, to let more light into the church."* Bassano,
writing of this church, says — " At upper end of body of church is
seat belonging to Hall, and above it is a large molding, being upper
beam of ye rood-loft, and on wood is cut ye paternal coat armour
of Frecheville, a bend between six escaUops, held by an angel on
his breast. Upon end of an old seat in ye chancell, Frechville
impaling a bend between six martlets."

The brief description of the chantry, as it existed hi 1757, is also
worth transcribing from Reynolds' notes — " South aisle parted in
two from north to south by iron rail or palisade, just by chancel
door, and more eastern part is the burying place of Frechevilles.
The entrance into this burying place is on your right hand just as
you come up at the communion rails." In the south wall of
the south aisle, just where the aisle terminates and the chantry
begins, is a small piscina which has at sometime been mutilated
and cut level with the wall, probably to make room for pews.
This, of course, affords a proof that a side altar formerly stood on
this spot.

One other object worthy of note remains in the interior of the
church. It is a richly carved recess, probably monumental, now
built into the outer wall of the north aisle. It formerly occupied
a similar position in the north wall of the nave. It is about five
feet in length, and a similar height in the centre, consisting of an
ogee-shaped arch ornamented with crockets, and supported at each
side by crocketed pinnacles. The face of these pinnacles is divided
into two compartments one above the other. That to the right
hand is occupied by a man in a single short garment with his
hands folded, and below him is a man with a crown, holding
in front of him a shield and a long sword. That to the left has
two female figures, the upper one in a plain long dress, and the
lower one in a square cut head dress surmounted by a crown,
holding a book in her hands. These figures are all very small,
and so rudely cut that we should have ascribed them to an early
date, had not the other details of the sculpture unmistakably
poiuted to nothing earlier than the Decorated period of the four-
teenth century. The upper half of the interior of the arched recess
has had a device painted on it, displaying no little skill. This

*Lysons' Correspondence. Add. MSS. 9,423, f. 303.

STAVELEY. 351

was laid bare during its removal, but is now much faded, and
hardly anything remains but the outline of the figures. The centre
figure, from the nimbus, is unmistakably Christ, and two winged
angels appear to be removing clothing from his shoulders. By some
this is said to represent the Resurrection, but others have sug-
gested the Baptism of the Saviour. The former appears to be the
more likely subject in this situation, but then the hands of the
central figure do not now bear any marks of the nails, but these
may have faded away. We have little doubt that the lower part
of this recess has been originally occupied by a small effigy, or,
what is more likely, by a demi-effigy, and that it is of a monu-
mental nature. It is now supported in the wall by a large base-
ment stone that projects some inches beyond it, and on the surface
of this stone are holes that have evidently once sustained iron
bars. From this circumstance it has been conjectured that the
contents of this sepulchral recess were railed off, and that they
were possibly the valuable or bejewelled relics of some saint. But
this conjecture cannot be maintained, for it is clear that the sup-
porting stone is of a different nature to the rest of the monument,
and, from the moulding of its edges, can be shown to belong to a
much later age.

On the apex of the eastern end of the roof of the nave is a bell-
cote, containing the sanctus bell — its proper position. This bell,
which we were told is uninscribed, occupied a similar position on
the old roof of the nave, before the church was restored, as we
find from the plate of the church in the Gentleman s Magazine,* to
which we have already referred. It is a most exceptional thing to
meet with the sauctus bell in its true position, most of those that
are still extant having been transferred to the belfry.

A short article, descriptive of the church, accompanies the plate
in Urban's Magazine. From this we learn that the church had
been lately paved, a new gallery built, and " the whole interior
beautified." The largely increased area of the church, since the
late alteration, is clearly shown, for we are told that it then con-
tained " an ichnographical site of about forty yards by twelve."
Mr. Gisborne, the then rector, whose name appears on the bell, is
much praised in this article, for though 87 years of age, he always
met the corpse at the churchyard gate, and refused shelter at the
grave side. Mention is also made of a headstone in the church-
yard to the memory of one Robert Sampson, a tombstone bard

* Gentleman's Magazine, December, 1820.

352 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

and itinerant dealer in pottery, whom Urban's correspondent much
extols.*

In the churchyard, near to the south porch, is the old cross,
now restored, the original portions of which are the base and the
greater portion of the shaft. The cross-head and the two steps
are new. At the time of Bassano's visit it must have been nearly
if 'not quite perfect, for he speaks of " a faire cross of 4 greeces
(steps) with a proportionable middle stem."

It now remains for us to describe the interesting monumental
remains still extant within the church, and to supplement this
description with as much information as we can coUect, respecting
the numerous memorials that have either decayed or been
demolished.

The church of Staveley, being the property of so illustrious a
family as that of Frecheville, naturally attracted much attention
from the Heralds in their Visitations. Various copies of the Visi-
tations of 1569 and 1612 are preserved amongst the Harleian MSS. ;
and we have also consulted Ashmole's Church Notes of the 18th
August, 1662, the notes of Bassano taken about 1710, those of
John Eeynolds, taken on the 18th November, 1757, and the
voluminous collections of Dr. Pegge.t

From the "Visitation of Darbysheire, by Richard St. George,
Esquire, Norroy King of Arms, 1612, together with Visitation made
1569," we take the following description of the elaborate blazonry
that then occupied the windows of this church : —

"In Staveley church, being the lordship of Sir Peter Frecheville,
Knight, taken the 24th day of August, 1611.
" These in the east chancel windowes : —
"1. Cheeky, orandaz., a fess, gu. (Clifford).
" 2. Gu., three lions passant gardant, or. (England).

* Robert Sampson was born at Inkersall Green, in the parish of Staveley. He died
on May 28th, 1804, aged 59. The following is his epitaph, written by himself : —
" Mortal ! behold an emblem of thy fate,

Place thy affection on a future state ;

Revolving time will leave thee breathless soon,

Night takes ns home, if not called hence at noon.

Here lies a poet, famous once for verse,

Now awful silence bids no more rehearse ;

Here let his relics undisturbed remain,

In peaceful dust, till they're restored again."

There is one of his epitaphs in Chesterfield churchyard, to the memory of Elizabeth
Mead, aged 15, who drowned herself in Walton Dam, August 29th, 1789, owing to a
false charge of theft. See Local Notes and Queries, Derbyshire Times, January 27th,
1674.

t The Notes of Reynolds, and a portion of the Heralds' Visitations were published
in 1834, in the first volume of Nichols' Collectanea, but we have in each instance
consulted the original manuscripts. Add. MSS., 6.701 : Harl. MSS., 5,809, 6829,
1,093, and 1,537; Ashmolean MSS., 854.

STAVELEY. 353

" 3. Az., a bend between 6 escallops, arg. (Frecheville).

" 4. Barry of six, arg. and az. (Grey, of Sandiacre).

" 5. Az., billety, a fess indented, or. (Deincourt).

"6. Arg., a chevron between three cross-crosslets fitchy, so,.
(Findern).:;:

" These six in the south windowes : —

" 1. Sa., six annulets three, two, one. (Leake).

" 2. Sa., on a bordure, arg., eight cinquefoils of the field. (Darcy).

" 3. Arg., three livery pots, gu., a border, sa. besanty. (Mon-
boucher).

"4. Or., on a fesse, gn., three water-bougets, ary., over all a
bend, sa. (Bingham).t

" 5. Paly of six, or and gu. on a bend, sa., three water-bougets,
arg. (Byrton).*

" In another window : —

" Quarterly : Babington and Dethick, and beneath ' Orate pro
bono statu Dni Johis Babiugton, qui istam feuestram fieri fecit.'

" ILL another window two coats : —

" 1. Arg., a bend between six martlets, sa. (Tempest).

"2. -£Vw.,§ five fusils in fess, gu. (Bosville).

" Beneath them this inscription : ' Orate pro bouo statu Thome
Tempest arniigeri, et . . . . uxoris ejus, qui istani feuestram
fieri fecerunt.'

"In another window two coats: —

"1. Frecheville.

"2. Arg., on a saltire engrailed, sa., nine annulets, or. (Leake).

" At the bottom of the window, under the first coat, one in
armour kneeling ; upon his surcoat, the bend and 6 escallops ; his
huyre yellow ; his hands closed and erect. Underneath this in-
scription— ' Orate pro anima Johis Frechevile Arniigeri, et pro
aiabus omnium antecessorum.'

"In the next pane, his wife kneeling at an altar (as likewise
her husband), her hands erect, upon her gowue saltoyre and an-

* Perhaps this coat is a mis-reading for Cachehors, who held the manor of Staveley-
Woodthorpe. The heiress married Bodes iii the fourteenth century.

f The arms of Bingham. of Nottinghamshire, were of common occurrence in the
churches of that county, where they were extensive landowners. These arms, with-
out the bend, are still to be seen in North \V infield Church. They were landowners
in Stavdi y in the sixteenth century.

* The arms attributed to Mousire de Byrton in Jenyn's Ordinary (Harl. MSS.
ti,.jtS'J; ; but we are not able to account for their appearance here.

^ Enn. is probably a mis-reading for unj. Elias Ashmole read this coat, '• Erin., 5
fusils, sa.," a bearing we cannot rind in ljapworth or elsewhere, and which leads us
to think that the glass was damaged, ami partly illegible.

•2 A

354 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

nulets. Under-written — ' Orate pro bouo statu Elizabeths uxoris
ejus unius benefactorum. '

" In the same pane behind him, his son kneeling at an altar in
a red robe, yellow hayred. Underwritten — ' Orate pro bono statu
Petri Freeh vile filii dicti Johis.'

" Behind her a daughter kneeling in a red gowne.

' ' In the next windowe —

" Arg.j three magpies, proper. (Bakewell). 'Orate pro aniina
Johis Bakewell, Capellani qui istam fenestram fieri fecit.' '

We have appended to these different coats the names in brackets
of the families to which they belonged. Their presence in these
windows may be thus briefly accounted for : — Clifford held a share
of the manor of Staveley for more than two centuries ; Ralph
Frecheville married Isabella, daughter of William de Grey, of
Sandiacre, in the reign of Edward III. ; John Deincourt held land
in Staveley in the reign of Henry III., which appears to have re-
mained in the family for several subsequent generations; John Freche-
ville married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir John Leake, of Sutton, in
1498 ; their son, Peter Frecheville, married Elizabeth, eldest daughter
of Sir Richard Tempest; Sir Thomas Tempest, of Bracewell, High
Sheriff of Yorkshire, 8 Henry VIII., son of Sir Richard, married
Rosamund, daughter and co-heiress of William Bosville, of Chevet ;*
Rosamund, the grand-daughter of Peter and Elizabeth Frecheville,
was married to John Darcy; Catharine, youngest daughter of Anker
Frecheville, was married to John Bakewell,^ she died 16th August,
1517 ; the marriage between Frecheville and Monboucher is mentioned
below ; the family of Goushill were landowners in the neighbouring
parishes of Eckington and Barlborough ; and Sir John Babington,
of Dethick, who was killed at the battle of Bosworth, 1485, was a
benefactor to the church, and is supposed to have held land in
Staveley.

Gervase Holies, the Lincolnshire antiquary, who visited this church
about half a century later, further mentions the arms of Freche-
ville in a south window, with the words " Radulphus Frecheville"

*Betham's Baronetage, vol. ii., p. 346.

t By a deed of the year 1497, witnessed by Richard Frecheville, parson of the
church of Staveley, John Bakewell, chaplain, grants to Anker Frecheville, and others,
all his lands at Staveley and elsewhere in trust, to perform his last will. Nichols'
Collectanea, vol. iv., p. 204. John Bakewell, chaplain, to whose memory there was
formerly a window, was not, of course, married, and his name-sake, who married
Catherine F., was, we believe, his nephew. The date of Catherine's death is taken
from an old Missal " belonging formerly to Staveley Church, now (1706) in the custody
of Mr. Richard Hall, of Dronfield." This Missal was presented to the church by
Robert Bertram, who died in 1438. There were various entries of the Frecheville
family on the fly leaves. Add. MSS. 6668, f. 301.

STAVELEY. 355

below tliem ; but the whole of this fine display of glass has long
since disappeared, and there does not appear to have been a single
ancient coat left, when Bassauo visited the church in 1710. The
orders passed by the Commonwealth for the demolition of painted
glass in churches, specially exempted all that was of an heraldic
or memorial nature ; but various battles and sieges raged so fiercely
round old Staveley House (which was in close proximity to the
church), between the Eoundheads and the Eoyalists, that nearly the
whole of this blazonry probably then disappeared. The only frag-
ments of old glass now remaining are two small pieces, in yellow
and white, in the east window of the chantry ; one of them represent-
ing an old man with bare feet grinding a hurdy-gurdy, and the
other a man's head with wavy hair. These fragments are of greater
age than any of the heraldic devices that we have been just
describing, and are coeval with the Decorated period of architecture.

There are two old monuments on the north side of the chancel,
of peculiar interest, for they both consist of effigies in brass to the
memory of the same man. The earliest of these is an altar tomb,
having 011 the top a full-length figure in brass of a knight in
armour. He is clad in plate armour, with his feet resting on a
belled talbot. Over his armour he wears a tabard, on which are
displayed the arms of Frecheville. His sword is girt in front of
his left thigh, and the hilt of the dagger is shown on the right.
The hands are clasped uplifted, but the upper .portion, together
with the head and shoulders, is missing. Two scrolls proceed from
the head, bearing these inscriptions respectively — " Sta Trinitas
unus Deus miserere nobis." " Deus ppicius esto mihi peccatori."
Above the figure is an emblem of the Trinity, occasionally found
on brasses of this date, consisting of a representation of God the
Father as an aged man seated under a canopy, holding before
him a crucifix, upon one arm of which a dove, the emblem of the
Holy Spirit, is alighting. At the four corners of the slab are four
escutcheons also in brass. They represent Frecheville, impaling a
lion rampant ; Frecheville impaling, on a bend between 6 martlets
3 roundlets (Wortlcy), and the third and fourth simply Frecheville.
— One of these latter is now very indistinct, and is described in
Holles's Visitation as Lealre, but sufficient remains to disprove
this. At each end of the tomb there has originally been a brass
escutcheon let into a quatrefoil cut in the stone, but these were
"rend away" even in Bassano's time. On the front there have
been also three shields, of which two are now remaining, viz. : —

356 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Frecheville impaling a liou rampant, and Freclieville. Bound t he-
margin the following inscription is let in, in a brass scroll, pro-
fusely ornamented between the words with grotesque figures of
animals and bits of foliage. The inscription is not now perfect, the
words supplied from the Visitation of 1611 being printed in italics.
Space was left at the time of the erection of this monument for the
precise date of the death, but this was not filled in. " Orate pro
animabus Petri Fre>-hwell Dni de Staveley in com. Derb. armigr. qui

obiit .... die men sis .... Anno Domini Millhns CCCC

Et Matilde uxoris ejus. Quorum aniuiaruni propicietur Deus.
Amen." This monument is to the memory of Peter Frechevillr.
who was mentioned above as being knighted at the battle of Mus-
selborough, and Matilda (Wortley) his wife. She died in 1482:
and, curiously enough, the Dodsworth MSS. in the Bodleian
Library, tell us of a separate monument to her memory, described
as " being on the ground." It bore the following inscription : —
" Hie jacet Matilda ffrechvile quondam uxor Petri ffrechvile, An.

Dom. de Staveley qui obiit 12 Kalend A. 1482." There

is now no trace of this monument, and we must conclude, with re-
gard to the altar tomb, that it was erected to their joint memory,
some tune after the wife's decease, by her husband. However, on the
death of Sir Peter Frecheville, his survivors or executors do not
appeal* to have been content to simply fill in the blank date on
this costly and handsome tomb, but they must needs perpetuate his
memory by a second brass, affixed to the wall immediately above
the altar tomb. This monument represents Peter and Matilda
kneeling at desks facing one another. The knight is clad in mail,
but with bare head and hands. His long sword rests on the spurs
of his sabbatons. Behind him are eight boys, kneeling in long
gowns trimmed with fur, wearing straight long hair. His lady is
clad in a long gown, also fur trimmed, and wears a peaked head-
dress with falling lappets. Behind her kneel seven girls similarly
attired. Above them is a figure of the Virgin and Child, to which
two scrolls lead up from the mouths of the knight and his lady.
These scrolls are now missing, but we can supply the words, as
they were extant when Bassano visited the church. They were
inscribed as follows: — " Sancta Maria, ora pro nobis," and "O
mater Dei memento mei." Below the figures we read this inscrip-
tion : — " Here under fote lieth the bodys of Peyrs Freychwell and
Maude his wyf, and sume tyme squk-r uiito the noble and excellent
priiu-o King Henry the VI.. and lord and patron of this chirche

STAVELEY. 357

Peyrs decessyd the xxv day of Marche, the yere our lord MDIII.
On whose soullys Jhu have mercy. Ameri."

This Peter Frecheville was the son of Gervase and Margaret
Frecheville. Of the fifteen children, which, according to the niural
monument, were born to him and his wife Maud, many must have
died in their infancy, as they are not noticed in any of the Visita-
tion pedigrees. We now only know the names of seven. John,
the eldest son and heir, whose tomb wre shall immediately notice;
Nicholas, who held Park Hah1, Deuby ; Ealph, who had property
at Brirnington, and whose will is dated loll ; Plichard, rector of
Staveley; Anker, who married Isabel, daughter and heiress of
Thomas Wakefield, of Newark; and two daughters, Agues and
Eleanor, who are incidentally mentioned in a pardon of the Pope's
of the year 1467.*

The next tomb to be noticed is a large slab of alabaster, raised
slightly from the ground, and placed under one of the two arches
that separate the chantry from the chancel. Upon this slab the
effigy of a man in armour is boldly pourtrayed, and an inscription
runs round the margin. The effigy is bare-headed, with hands
clasped, and sword by his side ; the feet are now broken, but the
small spurs remain, and Bassano and others describe the feet as
resting on a talbot or greyhound. This figure represents John
Frecheville, the son of Sir Peter Frecheville, whose monument we
ha\i' just described. Above his head are the arms of FrecheviDe.
The inscription is as follows, that part which is now missing has
been supplied from the Visitation of Gervase Holies, and is printed
in italics: — "Hie jacet Jobs Frecheville armiger qui diem suum
clausit extrernuin vicessimo mensis Januari Anno Dni Hillirn D. nouo,
Cujus aie propicietur Deus. Amen."

Eeynolds, writing in 1757, mentions several broken alabaster
pavers "lying before the Communion rails," but all illegible. The
inscription on one of these is given at the Visitation of 1611 :
" Hie jacc t Margareta Frecheville uxor .... Frecheville quoe ob.

viij. Ides (1336);" and at the head Frecheville impaling

Monboucher. Another stone also then bore Frecheville impaling
Fitzralph. Bassano (1710) describes yet another " alabaster stone
close to the north door of chancell, bearing Frecheville impaling 2
chevrons (Musard)," and four others all illegible. This slab,
described by Bassano as bearing Frecheville impaling Musard, would,
in all probability, be the interesting memorial of the first of the

*Harl. MSS. 1537, f. 57. Laiisdowne MSS. 207. f. 145.

358 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Staveley Frechevilles, viz., Anker de Freclieville, Lord of Crich.
He, in the reign of Henry III., married Ainicia, the eldest sister
and one of the co-heiresses of Nicholas Mtisard, who was Lord and
Eector of Staveley. The issue of this marriage was Ralph Freche-
ville ; who, by Margaret, daughter and heiress of John Beaufey, had
Anker Frecheville, who married Margaret, daughter of George
Monboucher.

At the restoration of the church, the remains of those slabs were
placed in the chantry ; but all the armorial bearings were quite
obliterated, and only a few words, almost illegible, of marginal
inscription can be traced upon one. " Que luce (?)" was all that
we could decipher. Reynolds, too, makes mention of "several
bluish flat stones, formerly crosses, but edges and figures wanting."
One of these still remains in the pavement of the chantry, and it
is evident, from the indent or matrix, that it originally consisted of a
demi-effigy with inscription below it, terminating in a cross. Brasses
of this description are generally of the fourteenth century. Another
one, that shows the matrices of a marginal inscription, and of a
centre figure with another inscription below it, has been subse-
quently re-used to commemorate a later sepulture, and now bears
the word " Resurgant" in Roman capitals at the foot, and the date,
1653, at the top. This chantry, or " Frecheville quire," contains
the monuments, handsome of their style, to the last of that family ;
but it would be foreign to the purport of these "Notes" to give
detailed descriptions of these post-Reformation memorials. Suffice
it, then, to say that they consist of a large marble sarcophagus, in
memory of John, Lord Frecheville, the last of that ancient family,
who died 1682, aged 76; and a handsome monument to his daugh-
ter Christian, wife of Lord St. John of Basing, who died in child-
bed of her first son in 1653. The mother is represented in white
marble in a recumbent position, with the child in her arms. The
head is considered to be a fine piece of sculpture. Behind Lord
Frecheville's sarcophagus is a window of coloured glass, bearing
in the centre the arms and quarterings of the last of the Freche-
villes, surrounded with cherubs and wreaths of roses. The motto
is " Qui aime le roy, aime sa patrie;" and at the bottom is the
inscription — " Dom Johannes Frescheville Baro de Staley posuit.
1676." The colours of this window are peculiarly delicate, and it
is a fine specimen of the Renaissance style, but yet it looks strangely
incongruous within the walls of a gothic church. It is said that
this window was imported from France, and Bassano mentions that
it cost £40, a very large price in those days.

STAVELEY. 359

Various interesting relics that had escaped the fury of the civil
wars, and the zeal of the Puritans, have since fallen victims to the
almost more destructive sluggishness of the "churchwarden era;"
for Bassano tells us that "Here hangs hys (John Frecheville's)
Pennon and Streamer, spurs, gauntlets, helmet, and crest, with tassels
of silk, bossed with gold ; with all ye achievements of Sir P. Freche-
ville, knight, who was knighted at Muselborrow battle, in Scotland,
great grandfather to John Lord Frecheville. Upon ye Pennon is
the same quartered coats as in ye window, exclusive of escutcheon
of pretence. Upon ye head end of ye Streamer is ye Arms of
England, below is Frecheville crest in several places, and ye motto
yr same as in ye window."

Immediately below the monument to the Lady Christian is a very
interesting slab to an ecclesiastic. The figure is clad in a single
long vestment or cassock, and is incised in low relief. From the
left hand proceeds a scroll bearing the words " Memento Johis,"
and the other arm supports a pastoral staff, the crook of which is
elegantly' carved and turned inwards. Over the head is a canopy,
or rather semi-circular ribbon, ornamented with four-leaved flowers.
Bound the margin is a well carved inscription, the words being
divided by foliage. The words in italics are almost quite illegible,
and are here supplied from the Notes of Holies. " Hie jacet Do-
minus Johannes Warton quondam rector istius eccJesie cujus anime
propicietur Deus. Amen."

We have endeavoured to form a complete list of the rectors of
Staveley, but have failed to fill up the considerable gap which
intervenes between John de Horton, mentioned above, and the time
of Henry VI., when Peter Eothery held the rectory. The pastoral
staff with the crook curved inwards appears to denote that Johannes
Wavton, formerly rector of Staveley, was at one time an Abbot of
some ecclesiastical foundation ; but it is curious that that fact should
not be recorded in the inscription. The general appearance of this
memorial seems to point to the fourteenth century as its date. It
perhaps should also be noted that this inscription has more than
once been read "Warsop" and not "Wartou;" but a careful com-
parison of the letters with the remainder of the inscription con-
vinces us that the final letter is not a " p ", at all events it does
not in any way correspond with the " p " in " propicietur." In
another part of this chantry, so rich in monumental remains, is
a far older incised slab, of the nature of many of those that have
been already described under other ohurchps. The slab is of grit-

360 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

stone, and tapers in shape, being one foot ten inches in width at
the head, and one foot three at the base. Its length is six feet
nine, and it is incised with a cross having a siniply-fornied circular
head. To the dexter side of the stern of the cross is a long sword
with a cross-shaped hilt. There is a diamond-shaped incision above
the head of the cross; and in the "calvary" of four steps, at the
base, is a five-leaved flower. Midway in the stern of the cross is
the matrix of a small oblong brass which is now missing, affording
proof that this stone also has been used for a doubly commemo-
rative purpose. We are inclined to put the date of this stone in
the twelfth century. The head of another incised cross is almost
entirely concealed by the base of a large canopied niche, that is
fixed against the wall in the south-east corner of this chautiy.
The base of this niche is now raised about a foot from the ground,
and at first sight it appears as if it was intended for a sedile; but
a closer inspection shows that the stone forming the base is carved
into two pediments, and that the pointed crocketed canopy is also
divided into two parts, clearly proving that it was designed for the
reception of the figures or statues of two saints, when it woiild
probably be fixed at a higher altitude than it now occupies. Near
to it, but in the south wall, projects a stone corbel or bracket
formed of a rudely designed human head.

The belfry contains a fine peal of eight bells. We give the in-
scriptions, though none of them have any -claim to antiquity.

I. " Given to the Church by the Eevd. Francis Gisborne. Ed-
ward Arnold, St. Neots, fecit, 1782." The weight of this bell is
also lightly incised on the top of the shoulder, 18 cwt. 3 qrs. 32 Ibs.

II. " The Duke of Devonshire gave £50 for recasting the five
first bells. The parish bore all other expenses, 1782." The weight,
marked in the same place as on the previous one, is 12 cwt. 2 qrs.
3 Ibs.

III. " Eevd. Fletcher Dixon, curate. Eichard Flint, John Law-
rence churchwardens. Edward Arnold, fecit, 1782." Weight 10 cwt.
0 qr. 7 Ibs.

IV. "Eevd. Fletcher Dixon curate. Eichard Flint, John Law-
rence, churchwardens. Edward Arnold, St. Neots, fecit, 1782."
Weight 9 cwt. 0 qr. 14 Ibs.

V. "Whilst thus we join in cheerful sound, May love and
loyalty abound, 1782." Weight 7 cwts. 3 qrs. 21 Ibs.

VI. " Edward Arnold, St. Neots, Huntingdonshire, fecit, 1782."
Weight 7 cwt. 3 qrs. 0 Ibs.

STAVELEY. 361

VII. "This bell was given by the Revd. Francis Gisborne,
Kector of Staveley, 011 William the Marquis of Hartington coming
of age, the 21st of May 1811. T. Mears, of London, fecit."

VIII. " This bell was given by the parishioners of Staveley and
C. on William the Marquis of Hartiiigton coming of age, 21st May,
1811. T. Mears, London, fecit."

The Rev. Fletcher Dixou, mentioned on two of these bells, was
brother-in-law of the Rev. Francis Gisborue, the rector. He was
subsequently appointed vicar of Duffield.

There is a curious tale about the recasting of these bells, which
wus narrated to us by one who now acts as the janitor of the
church. Our informant told us that he had it from his grand-
father, Mr. Garfitt, who was then in charge of the bells ; but it
must surely have been his great-grandfather, when we reflect on
the date. The whole of the Staveley bells, eight in number, were
sent to a far distant foundry (St. Neots) to be recast in 1782. and
when the note advising of their departure on the road home reached
Staveley, Mr. Garfitt was despatched to meet them. He fell in
with the waggon or waggons, in which they were being conveyed, at
Leicester ; and escorted them to Staveley in triumph. In due course
they were hung in position ; and, to the public generally, their tone
(for which Staveley tower had always been noted) was satisfactory.
But the critical ears of the bell-ringers and some of their musical
friends detected something slightly amiss in two of them, and com-
plaint was made at the foundry of St. Neots. From the corres-
pondence that thereupon ensued it was discovered, that new or
recast bells were at the same time being sent from St. Neots to
the church of Darfield in Yorkshire, and that two of them had been
misdirected or changed hands on the road. Mr. Garfitt was there-
fore despatched to Darfield ; but the good people there had got their
bells safely in position, and not being possessed of ears so sensitive
as those of the Staveley parishioners, refused to have them removed.
Staveley had then to put up with the slight discord, until, we
suppose, the year 1811, when the two defaulters were recast by
Mears of London, in unison with the rest of the peal. We think
we have recorded this account just as it was told us, and we are
sure that our informant will not think us discourteous if we express
an opinion that there is something apocryphal about it. For, on
referring to our note book, we find that eighteen months ago we
were told by a very old inhabitant of Killamarsh, that their bells
had found their way to Darfield belfry, not under exactly similar

362 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

circumstances, but with only a slight variation ! And clearly there
is something mysterious about these Darfield bells, for it was to
that belfry also, that the old bells of Beauchief Abbey are said to
have been taken.

The Taxation Eoll of Pope Nicholas IV., taken in 1291, values
the church of Staveley at £10 per annum. The Valor Ecclesiasticus,
27 Henry VIII., gives the following particulars of the rectory, from
which it appears that the Cliffords still held one presentation to
two of the Frechevilles.

STAVELEY EECTOEIA.
Domino Heurico Clifford qualibet tertia via et Petro Fretchville duabus vicibus Pa-

tronis ejusdem.

Dominus Johannes Hewett rector habet ibidem. «£ s. d.

In mansione cum gleba ......... xl

In decimis garbarum .......... yj

In decimis feni x

In paschali rotulo ------ xl

In decimis lane et agnellorum xxx

In decimis minutis et oblationibus xiij iiij

Summa xij xiij iiij

Unde resoluta est archidiacons Derbie pro scenagio et procuragio - vj

De claro - xij vij iiij
Decirna inde xxiiij ix

The Parliamentary Commission of 1650 reported that the rectory
of Staveley was in two medieties, one of which, to the value of
£80 per annum, was appropriated to the minister ; but the other,
valued at £100, was impropriated to Mr. Frecheville, " whereof
£30 was lately settled to the chapel of Holmesfield." * The Com-
missioners add that Mr. George Mason, the incumbent, was an
" able minister." The mediety of the rectory, here described as
impropriated by Mr. Frecheville, was that portion which had been
given, as already stated, to the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem.
On the dissolution of the property of that Hospital in the reign
of Henry VIII., this moiety passed to Sir Francis Leake, and he
conveyed it, together with a portion of the manor of Staveley, to
Peter Frecheville, for the sum of £286, on May 1st, 37 Henry VIII.

Attached to the manor of Staveley was a Free Chapel, in no way
dependent on the rectory. This chapel was founded by the Mu-
sards in the thirteenth century, and was dedicated to St. John the

* See the account of Holmesfield Chapelry.

STAVELEY. 363

Baptist.* It appears that the aclvowson of this chapelry, which
was possessed of an independent endowment as early as the reign
of Edward I., was held in medieties in correspondence with the
divisions of the manor and rectory ; for we sometimes find the pre-
sentation in the hands of the Frechevilles, and sometimes of the
Cliffords.!

"When the Chantry Commission was appointed, in the reign of
Henry VIII., the commissioners included this chapel in their report.
The following is their condensed account in the Chantry Roll from
which we have usually quoted in these pages : —

"Staley. The Free Chapel founded by Musserd auncestor of Sir
Peter Frachitell Knt., nowe patron, to serve the cure of the manor
of Staley, liiis. iiijd. Thos. Bromhead preste. xvd., resolute rentte
to my lade of Cumberlande. It is a parisshe churche and hath a
mancyon house worthey to he letten yerely xvj*-. Our chalis was
stolen xij. rnonethes past. Stock iijs. j</. Clere value liijs iiijj.

From another and more extended copy of the Chantry Roll,:}:
there appears to be no doubt that this chapel was possessed of
full sacramental rights of every description, and was, in fact, a parish
of itself. But this did not spare it from confiscation ; and the land,
pertaining thereto, amounting to about fifty acres, was handed over
to Sir John Pinent and Thomas Reve, who in their turn, " pro
quad. sum. pecun." conveyed the property to Sir Peter Freeh eville
on December 24th, 15-i8.§ There is now no trace whatever re-
maining of this chapel, nor is the site known with any precision. ||

* *

About a mile and a half from Staveley is the hamlet of Wood-
thorpe. Here Peter Frecheville by his will, bearing date 16th

* It is true that one Inquisition styles it the Chapel of St. John, but, though this
dedication is adopted by the Rev. Mackenzie Walcott, the preponderance of evidence
in favour of John the Baptist is overwhelming.

t Inq. post mort. 2 Edw. II., No. 10; 13 Ric. II., No. 14 ; 14 Ric. II. (Anker Freche-
ville); 12 Hen. IV., No. 6. Lansdowne MSS. 207, f. 162. Additional M3S. 5937,
f. 51.

J Certificates of Colleges, &c , Roll 13, No. 35, at the Public Record Office.

§ See Nichol's Collectanea, vol. iv. p. 207.

[| It is said in Dr. Pegge's Collections (vol. iv. ) that this chapel was founded by
Lady Amicia Frecheville, who obtained leave for its erection in the lifetime of her
kinsman, Nicholas Musard, the rector.

Dr. Pegge gives a subsequent jotting respecting this parish in another volume,
where he relates that 011 " May llth, 1694, Francis Glossop of Neather Hanley in
Staveley parish, dyed ; who (as was discerned) did put 57s. in the poor mans box in
Staveley chancel, about 10 years agone, at one time." The Doctor copies this from
a manuscript book of Mr. H. Lowe, of WMttington, as well as the information that
Stavdcy wakes were held in 1693 on Trinity Sunday, though they had always pre-
viously'been held on the Sunday before Midsummer day. Dr. Pegge also states that
there was a Guild of St. Mary at Staveley in the reign of Edward VI., but we have
met with no corroboration of this statement.

364 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

March, 1632, caused certain recently erected buildings to be con-
verted into an bospital or alms-houses for eight poor men and
women, and he describes its situation as on " the south side of the
chapel." This, it appears, was a chapel previously erected by him,
and he makes special provision in his will for the constant atten-
dance of the aged pensioners therein. " They should moreover
pay to some honest deacon, or other ecclesiastical person to be
chosen iu manner aforesaid, for his pains in duly and decently
reading morning and evening prayer, according to the book of
Common Prayer, every day in the week to the said poor people in
the chapel aforesaid, the like yearly sum of £4 quarterly as afore-
said. . . . Such deacon or reader should from time to time
have his lodgings in a chamber or upper room, situate in the west
end of the said almshouse."*

* See the Charity Commissioners' Report, 1827. There is a long account of the
later Frechevilles and of Staveley Hall in the Reliquary (vol. iii), from the pen of the
late Mr. Swift, of Sheffield.

|UTTOX-IX-THE-DALE, thus caUed to distinguish it from
Suttou-on-the-Hill, a village of South Derbyshire, is now,
for the most part, known as Sutton-Scarsdale, from the
Hundred in which it is situated. Both these villages formed part
of the large landed property with which "Wulfric endowed Burton
Abbey in the year 1002. We have failed to find any early mention
of the church at Button, but the manor, which was in the hands
of Roger de Poictou at the time of the Domesday Survey, was
granted to the family of De Hareston in the thirteenth century.
In the next century, the heiress of Eobert de Hareston brought the
estate to the Greys of Sandiacre,* and from them it passed by
subsequent marriages to the Hillary s, and thence to the Leakes.
The Lekes or Leakes derive their descent from Allan de Leka of
Leak in Nottinghamshire, who was living in 1141. The first of
that family who settled at Sutton-Scarsdale was William, a younger
son of Sir John Leake, of Gotham, who came there in the early
part of the fifteenth century.

The church at Sutton-Scarsdale, dedicated to St. Mary, consists
of a nave, chancel, north aisle, south porch, and an embattled
tower at the west end. There does not appear to be any clear
trace, about the building, of a date earlier than the Decorated
period of ecclesiastical architecture, in the first half of the four-
teenth century. The nave, chancel, and south porch seem to be
mainly of that style, the east window of the chancel and two of
the south windows of the nave being filled with Decorated tracery ;
but other lights are of later insertion, and point to the Perpendi-
cular period. The north aisle, also, and the tower, have evidently
been built when that style was in vogue, though all the large

*Inq. post mort. 33 Hen. III., No. 16; 3 Edw. III., No. 47; 4 Hen. IV., No. 1,
etc., etc. Quo Warranto Roll, 4 Edw. III.

368 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

windows of the former must be attributed to a much more debased
age. This aisle, which runs along the whole north side of the
church, so as to make a second chancel or side chapel, is separated
from the nave and chancel by five pointed arches resting on octagon
pillars with plainly moulded capitals. At the east end of the aisle,
below the window, is a small corbel bracket with an embattled edge
and terminating in a human face. It has, doubtless, served as a
pedestal for the saint of the side chapel. The roof of the aisle is
divided into squares (now filled up with whitewashed plaster) by
intersecting beams. The alternate bosses down the centre are
carved into armorial shields, which are still perfect, though there
is no trace left of the tinctures or proper colours.

The first of these, beginning at the east end, is Leake (arg., on
a saltire engrailed, sa., nine annulets, or), impaling Savage (cm/., a
pale fusilly, sa.).

The second, Leake impaling Foljambe (sa., a bend between six
escallops, or).

The third, Foljambe impaling Leake.

The fourth is the same as the first.

The fifth, which is difficult now to read, but which Bassano
describes as "Barr-wayes of 6 pieces, upon 3rd a crescent, upon
5th two crescents," is for "Waterton, impaling Leake.*

The centre window on the north side of this aisle contains two
interesting fragments of old glass. The one consists of the figure
of a man, with long curling hair and a smooth face, set in a back-
ground of red glass, the upper part of the body encased in plate
armour, and the arms of Leake on the cuirass ; the other is a
quartered coat of arms : — 1st and 4th arg., a bear rampant, sa.,
muzzled, collared, and chained, or (Beresford) ; 2nd and 3rd per
chevron, arg. and or, three pheons, sa. (Hassall), with a crescent
for difference.

Though this is all the painted glass now in the church, it had
formerly several memorial windows to the Leakes and their connec-
tions. A good many interesting fragments must have disappeared
of late years, for in an account of this church, published in 1791, t
and again in the manuscript notes of Lysons taken about twenty
years later, J there are descriptions of a man in a surcoat of the

* Accordiiig to Glover's Ordinary, the arms of Waterton of Walton, Yorks., are —
Barry of 6 erm. and gu., over all 3 crescents sa.

I The Topographer, vol. iii., p. 341.
I Add. MSS. 9463.

SUTTON-IN-THE-DALE. 369

Leake Arms, and of a lady with a pointed head- dress, having on
her robes the arms of Foljarnbe, and other particulars. When
Bassano visited the church in 1710 he reported, that the glass
seemed tolerably perfect in the north and east windows ; but it is
from the Herald's Visitations in 1569 and in 1612 that we learn
so many details of the former condition of these windows ; details
of much interest in connection with the family history of the
Leakes, who possessed this manor and the advowson of the church
for so many generations. ••'•

In the east window of the north aisle was the following inscription
to Sir John Leake, and Elizabeth his wife, daughter of Sir John
Savage, from which we learn nearty the precise date of the rebuilding
of the north aisle, and the chancel : —

" Orate pro animabus Johis Leeke viri nobilis, Domini de Button
in le Dale Arm., et Elizabeths uxoris ejusdem, qui hujus ecclesiaB
partem borealem una cum choro principal! in omni opere in lapide
turn ligneo cum vitreo tumque plumbeo et ferreo fieri fecit de novo.
Quiquideru Johannes penultimo die Martii A. Domini 1505 ab hac
luce migravit ad Domiuum."

Below the inscription was Leake impaling Savage. Their eldest
son and heir, John, married Jane or Jennett, daughter of Henry
Foljanibe of Walton ; and their eldest daughter, Catherine, married
Sir Godfrey Foljambe, brother of Jane. This accounts for the
impaled coats of these families on the roof of the aisle. Eleanor,
or Ellen, the second daughter of Sir John Leake and Elizabeth
Savage, married Eobert Waterton, of Walton, Yorkshire, which ac-
counts for another of the shields on the roof. This daughter, and
her elder brother John, together with James Beresford, were com-
memorated in the centre window of the north aisle, the fragments
in which we have already described. The inscription was — " Orate,
quresumus, pro animabus Johis Leeke et Ellenaa, et necnon pro
animabus Magistri Jacobi Berisford sacrum legiirn Baccalarii ....
Chesterfeild, ac dictorum Johannis et Elena? oratoris obsequentis-
simi." The mention of James Beresford in connection with these
two children of Sir John Leake, seems to point to his having at
one time been domestic chaplain and probably tutor in the family.
The quartered arms of Beresford and Hassall, still extant, show
the parentage of James Beresford. Thomas Beresford, a younger
son of John Beresford, of Beresford, Staffordshire, married Agnes,

* Harl. MSS 1093, fol. 21 ; 1486, fol. 24 ; and 5800. Some of these inscriptions are
also to be found amongst the Dodsworth MSS. in the Bodleian Library.

2n

370 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

the daughter and heiress of Eobert Hassel, of Hassel, Cheshire,
and settled at Fenny Bentley, near Ashbourne, in the fifteenth
century. They had a family of sixteen sons and five daughters.
There is an elaborate monument to their memory in the
chancel of Fenny Bentley church. James appears to have been
the youngest but one of the sixteen eons ; he subsequently attained
to the degree of LL.D.*

Sir John Leake's second son was Thomas, -who married Maude,
daughter of James Kolleston. Another window in this aisle was to
his memory, and thus inscribed : — " Orate pro bono statu Thomae
Leeke, filii Johis Leeke et Elizabethse consortis suae, ac fratis Johis
Leeke ; " and below it were the arms of Leake, with a crescent for
difference.

There was yet a third daughter of Sir John Leake, Elizabeth ;
but there is no record of her memory having been enshrined hi
these windows. She was married in the first instance, in 1502, to
John Frecheville, of Staveley, when he was only thirteen years old ;
and, secondly, to Brian Hastings.t It is very possible that her
father had completed the restoration of the north aisle and chancel
before she was born, or, at all events before she was of sufficient
age to warrant any special memento of her name.

In another window was a further memorial to John Leake and
his wife Joan, in connection with his maternal uncle, Thomas
Savage, Archbishop of York. It read as follows: — " Orate pro
felici statu Honorabilissimi patris in Christo Thomas Savage, Ebor.
Archipraesulis meritissimi ; necnon prospero statu Johis Leeke filii
et haeredis Johis et Elizabethan, et Johanna? Consortis suae." Below
it were the impaled arms of the See of York with Savage, and
of Leake with Foljambe. Thomas Savage was the second of the
nine sous of Sir John Savage, of Stainsby, etc., by Katharine,
daughter of Thomas, Lord Stanley. Thomas Savage was con-
secrated Bishop of Kochester in 1493, Bishop of London in 1496,
and Archbishop of York in 1501. His sister Elizabeth, as stated
above, was married to Sir John Leake.j

Though the prayers of the worshippers at Button were asked for
this Archbishop, his remains were not deposited here, but in his
Cathedral of York ; special directions having been given that his

* Harl. MSS. 1093, fol. 49. Glover's Derbyshire, vol. ii, p. 44.
t Nichol's Collectanea, vol. iv., p. 206.

1 For further particulars as to the Savages, of Stainsby. see the account of the
Churches of Hault Hucknall and North Winfield.

SUTTON IN-THE-DALE. 371

heart should be buried at his birth-place, Macclesfield. We know
not whether this injunction was carried out. He died at Cawood
on the 2nd of September, 1507, and it is said of him that his
chief delight was "in the sound of the huntsman's horn, and the
baying of his hounds."

In the east window of the chancel, and in the south windows,
there was formerly some older glass than that which we have been
considering, consisting of coats of arms relating to the occupants of
the manor of Sutton, prior to Leake. In 1235, the manor was
granted to Peter de Hareston. The heiress of his successor, Kobert
de Hareston, brought it to Eichard de Grey, of Sandiacre. Alice,
daughter and heir of "William de Grey, married William Hillary ;
their son John took the name of Grey about 1890. His daughter
and heir, Alicia, brought the manors of both Sandiacre and Sutton
to the Leakes, by marriage with John Leake, in the reign of
Henry IV., and thenceforth the chief seat of the Leake family was
at Sutton. John Leake, who first obtained Sutton, was grand-
father of his namesake who married Elizabeth Savage.

The east window of the chancel contained : —

1. Barry of six, anj. and az. (Grey, of Codnor.)

2. The same with label of three points, gu., charged with nine
bezants.*

8. Barry of six, arg. and az., on a bend, gu., three leopards' faces
jessant de lis, or.f

4. Barry of six, arg. and az., over all a cinquefoil, or.$
In the south windows were three ancient coats : —

1. Sa., three leopards' faces jessant de lis, arg., within seven
cross-crosslets fitchy, of the second. (Hillary.)

2. Cheeky, arg. and gu.^ (Roos, or Vaux.)

8. Or, two bars, gu., in chief two martlets of the second.

We must not omit to .mention an alabaster gravestone in the
chancel, bearing on it an effigy in plate armour, with helmet and
crest under the head. A considerable portion of the inscription
round this stone is given in the Topographer, and in Lysons' MSS.
Notes, but it was complete at the visit of Bassauo, and we accord-
ingly give it, as it read in 1710 : — " Hie jacet Johannis Foljarnbe
filius et pro ternporo heres apparens Godfridi Foljainbe, qui obiit

* The arms of a younger branch of Grey, according to Glover's Ordinary.

tThis is another bearing of Grey, Harl. MSS. 1,459; probably a compromise be-
tween the coats of Hillary and Grey.

I This is most likely Grey again, with the cinquefoil for a difference.
§ Paly, arg. and gu., in Harl. MSS. 1,486.

372 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

apud Sutton-in-le-Dale vicessimo septimo die mensis Octobris, A.D.
Milesshno quadringentessimo nonogessimo uono. Cujus auiine pro-
picietur Deus. Arnen." This was John, the eldest son of Sir
Godfrey Foljambe and Catharine Leake, who died in his mere boy-
hood, for his parents were not married till 1490. He was suc-
ceeded as heir by his brother, the future Sir James Foljambe, who
was not born till twelve years after John's death.* We could not
find this slab at the time of our visit to the church, and there
seems a strong probability that it was taken up, and not replaced,
at a recent date, when the late Mr. Eobert Arkwright had the
the whole of the pavement relaid.

The whole of the internal arrangements of this church are pecu-
liar ; the pulpit, for instance, being placed against the north wall
of the aisle. Near to it are fixed tablets bearing the Belief and
the Lord's Prayer, and at the bottom of the former is an inscrip-
tion saying that — " This Church was repaired and beautified by
Clement Kynnersley, Esq., in 1807." It would most likely be at
this date that the windows ol the aisle were altered to their pre-
sent barbarous condition, and that the crocketed pinnacles of the
exterior of the tower and body of the church were so clumsily re-
newed.

The nave does not contain much of interest ; the archway into
the tower is plastered up and hidden by a west gallery ; and the
small priests' door, on the south side of the chancel, though of
good proportions, and with neat hood-mould on the exterior, is
built up, and the recess occupied by a stove, whose clumsy pipe is
a most unsightly object. The niche in the wall of the chancel,
which has formerly served for the piscina, is now fitted with an
iron safe for deeds. At the time of our visit the door of the safe
was ajar, but the sole document there treasured was an Act of
George the IV., for the prevention of Irregular Marriages! To the
left of the east window is a ponderously ugly monument, to the
memory of Francis Pierrepont, grandson of Eobert, Earl of King-
ston, who died in the year 1707. We only mention this monument
as it is of interest in connection with Elizabeth, Countess of Shrews-
bury. The third great mansion which that lady built in this
county was situated at Owlcote, or Oldcote, in this parish. This
estate passed with the Countess's daughter Frances, to Sir Henry
Pierrepont, whose descendant Francis, commemorated by this monu-

The elaborate notice of the Foljambe family in Nichol's Collectanea, erroneously
speaks of Sir James Foljambe as the eldest son of Sir Godfrey.

SUTTON-IN-THE-DALE. 373

merit, was the last of that branch of the family. There are now
no remains of this mansion, and it is supposed that it was taken
down at the death of Mr. Francis Pierrepont.

Near the font (which is a modern one) there is a slab, forming
part of the pavement, which bears an incised cross. It has a
pedimented or "Calvary" base, the stem is formed of two parallel
lines, and the head is circular and slightly floriated. In the centre
of the floriations is the letter T in lloman capitals, but this is
evidently a modern and wanton addition. To the left hand of the
stem of the cross is a curious figure, intended, we believe, to repre-
sent a knife, or more likely the head of a halberd or bill. This
symbol is one that is very rarely met with on incised slabs, and
the student of this branch of antiquarian lore will not be sorry
to have another instance mentioned that seems to have hitherto
escaped notice. We only know of three instances recorded in the
manuals dealing with incised slabs, viz., at the Castle Chapel, New-
castle, at Papplewick, Notts, and at Lichfield Cathedral.* If it is
intended for the head of a halberd, it merely marks the grave of a
soldier, of what grade it is difficult to say ; but should it represent
a knife, it may perhaps be the symbol of an " Ecuyer trenchant,"
or the official " kerver " of some great family, which was a post
of honour. From the general appearance of this slab, which has
been cut round the edges to fit its present position, we should say
that it could not be of later date than the thirteenth century, and
therefore older than any part of the church as it now stands ; it is
in itself a proof of there having been an earlier building on this
site, for this stone has not been cut to mark any out-door sepul-
ture. Another stone adjoining this one, and of similar size, is also
well worthy of attention, though perhaps a century or two later in
its date. It bears round the margin a short inscription (of which
part is missing owing to the cutting off of one end of the slab),
in Lombardic capitals of two inches in length. Each character is
separated from its neighbours by equal intervals of some three
inches, and there is no punctuation whatever. That which is
legible is as follows, each dot representing a missing letter —
HICIACETIS....LLA.HITE. Making allow-
ance for a superabundant letter in the Christian name, a matter
of no great moment in those days, we read this as "Hie jacet
Isabella White." But history seems to be silent as to who was

* To these may also now be added another one, used in the lintel of one of the
outh clerestory windows of North Wiiifield, which we had the pleasure of discover-
ing during a recent restoration.

374 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Isabella White, though her simple memorial has lasted to our days.
In the aisle of the nave there are three much more modern incised
crosses, which should not escape the attention of the curious in
these matters ; for in most instances the cross, as a sepulchral sym-
bol, fell into complete disuse after the Keforrnation, and has only
recently been revived. One of these is without date or inscription,
a second is to the memory of Jane Kedfearue of Duckrnanton, who
died in 1648, and the third is to one of the same family, who died
in 1654.

The tower is a well-proportioned example of the Perpendicular
style of the fifteenth century. The parapet is embattled, and the
angles are adorned with crocketed pinnacles, all of which are
clumsily worked modern imitations, except the one in the north-
east angle. The tower contains a peal of four bells. The first
one is apparently inscribed Resonabo in honore Dei, but the legend
is not very legible, and part of it is in Lorubardic and part in
Gothic characters. The second bears God save the King, 1666, an
inscription common to nine-tenths of the bells that were cast
shortly after the Restoration. The third reads In Honore St.
Gabrielis, and has also a bell founder's mark, which we could not
decipher. This is, we should suppose, the oldest bell; and the one
that was left to the church, at that time in our ecclesiastical his-
tory, when the spoiling of church bells was considered a necessary
adjunct to a reformation in religion. The tenor is inscribed with
God save the Church 1623 ; and the founder's mark (not often met
with in Derbyshire, but which occurs at Hartington) consists of a
quartered shield, in the upper quarters of which are the initials
P. H., and in the lower ones two sprigs of foliage.

Although the present fabric of the church gives little proof of
great age, there can be no reasonable doubt that a church existed
here at least as early as the twelfth century ; and that the advow-
son was, as a rule, held by the successive possessors of the manor.
There are, however, but few references to it in history. According
to Pope Nicholas' Taxation Roll, taken in 1291, the rectory of
Button was worth £4 13s. 4d. per annum.

By a charter of the year 1329, William de Grey de Sandiacre
suffered a fine of 60s. for license to lease his manor of Sutton-in-
the-Dale to Robert Hillary, parson of the church of Button Colfield
(Warwickshire), and to Richard de Grey de Sandiacre, parson of
the church of Sutton-in-the-Dale.*

* Abbrev. Rot. Orig. 17 Edw. HI., No. 68.

SUTTON-IN-THE-DALE. 375

"\Vlien the Valor Ecclesiasticus was drawn up, 27 Henry VIII.,
Francis Leake was entered as the patron of Sutton, and Robert
Towneud as the rector. The clear value of the living, after deduct-
ing archidiaconal fees, was then estimated at £7 16s. 5d.

Amongst the later references to the church of Sutton, may be
mentioned the settlement of a yearly rent issuing out of lands at
Dore, by Francis Leake (Lord Deincourt) in trust, for the repair of
a tomb of his ancestor. A copy of this deed, dated 1G39, is with
the Wolley papers, and by it he binds the trustees to "employ the
*aid rent upon the repair of a tombe, erected by mee the said Lord
Deincourt, in the north side of the church of Sutton in Dale,
and also upon the repair of the said north aisle, built by my
ancestors." The surplus, if any, of this fund was to be kept till
it reached to £50, and then to be distributed to the poor of Sutton-
cum-Duckmantou. *

At the Parliamentary Survey of Livings in 1G50, the Commissioners
reported of Sutton that it was worth £25 annually, and that one
" Thomas Taylor is present incumbent, who is scandalous and hath
beene found in armes against the Parliament."

There is an interesting legend in connection with the porch of
this church and "the dole of St. Nicholas." There are various
versions of this tradition, and the one we shall quote is, for the
most part, that given by John Ashbury, who lived as cook with
Lord Deincourt (Sir Francis Leake), at Suttou, at the time of the
Civil War. The story runs that there was once a Sir Nicholas
Leake, who went to the Holy Land as a Crusader. Before he
started, he and his lady broke a ring between them. Having been
taken prisoner by the Turks, they suspected him to be of noble
extraction, and detained him in hopes of a large ransom. After
lying in prison many years (for it had been reported in England
that he was slain in battle), he felt that his end was approaching,
and prayed earnestly to the Virgin to be allowed once more to see
his fair domains at Sutton, vowing, that if his prayer was granted,
he would make ample provision for the poor of his parish. He fell
asleep, and upon awaking the next morning, found himself seated
within a church porch, which he immediately recognised as the
porch of his own church of Sutton. After being repeatedly spurned
from his own doors, on account of his ragged apparel and haggard
appearance, he at length obtained admission by sending the half

* Add. MSS. 6700, fol. 192. This tomb, notwithstanding this specific endowment
for its repair, has completely disappeared.

376 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

ling to his lady. She at once recognised him ; lie recovered, and
lived many years in prosperity and happiness. In gratitude to the
Virgin for his miraculous journey, and in fulfilment of his vow, Sir
Nicholas Leake left hy will eight hushels of wheat to he baked
into loaves, and given to the poor of Sutton, Duckrnanton, and
Temple Normanton, on St. Nicholas' day, for ever. Francis, Lord
Deincourt, further increased this dole, so that in his days there
were often eighteen and twenty loads of wheat haked and dealt out
to all applicants. The loaves weighed two-and-a-half pounds, and
were stamped with the initial N. They were considered a rarity,
and frequently sent as a present to friends. In 1832, according
to the Derbyshire Courier, Captain Clay, of Hill Houses, North Win-
field, had in his possession one of these loaves, which had been
baked in the year 1735. This legend is still extant in the neigh-
bourhood, and one oral version which reached us, and which has
not hitherto found its way into print, adds that the heir of Sir
Nicholas, a few years after his death, neglected to comply with the
provisions of his will. But, on the morrow of St. Nicholas' day, a
deep well, situated between the church and the hall, overflowed in
a marvellous manner, and did most serious damage, the waters
continuing to rise rapidly. The conscience-stricken heir imme-
diately ordered the ovens to be heated and the dole baked, where-
upon the waters as rapidly subsided.*

Of Francis, Lord Deiucourt, it is recorded, that, " having suf-
fered much for his loyalty in the times of the unparalleled rebellion,
in which "King Charles lost his life, he became so much mortified
after the horrid murder of his rightful sovereign, that he apparelled
himself in sackcloth, and causing his grave to be digged some
years before his death, laid himself down in it every Friday, exer-
cising himself frequently in divine meditation and prayer. He
died at Sutton, April 9th, 1655, and was buried in the church. "t

The appearance of this church, half enwrapped in ivy, is de-
cidedly picturesque when viewed from certain localities, but it is
sadly dwarfed and overshadowed by the very close proximity of
Sutton Hall, a large Grecian structure, erected about 1740, by

* The accuracy of this legend is somewhat seriously impugned by the fact that
there was no Sir Nicholas Leake who ever held the estates of Sutton, though there
may have been a knight of that name among the younger sons. This difficulty is got
over by Mr. Bichard Howitt (who has embodied the tradition in a ballad), by attri-
buting the dole and the miraculous journey to Lord Deincourt, but this is a strange
confusion, as we know from contemporary evidence that the dole had been in ex-
istence long before the days of Lord Deincourt. This ballad forms one of The
Ballads and Songs of Derbyshire, collected by Mr. Llewellynn Jewitt.

fDugdale's Baronage, vol. ii., p. 450.

SUTTON-IN-THE-DALE. 377

Nicholas, Earl of Scarsdale. Several other instances occur to our
mind of the very near neighbourhood of church and hall, e.g.,
Kedleston, in this county, but we doubt if there is any other
instance in the whole of England where they so closely approxi-
mate. In fact, it would be impossible for the hall to be closer
than it is on the north side, unless it were built against it, for it
is only separated by a few feet, a passage leading out of the hall
into the north aisle. As it is, the north side of the tower, and the
west end of the north aisle, are actually used as supports for some
of the outbuildings (washhouses we believe) which are built against
them ; and it will scarcely be credited, that the tower has been utilized
to form one side of a red-brick chimney to these outhouses, which
runs up the exterior of the tower to its very summit. At the
time, too, of the building of the present hall, part of the grave-
yard of this parish church must surely have been appropriated, as
all public access to the church is now cut off both on the north
and east sides.

878 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

of Suditmanton.

have placed this parish under Sutton-in-the-Dale, as
it has for more than three centuries ceased to have any
church of its own ; and the vicarage of Duckmanton
was so far consolidated with the rectory of Button, that it lost its
distinctive title, and the living became known as the benefice of
Sutton-cum-Duckinanton.

• Lysons states that the manor of Duckmanton (Ducemaunestune)
was given by Wulfric Spott to Burton Abbey, by his will of the
year 1002 ; but this is an error, for it was in reality bequeathed by
him to one Morcare, in connection with several other manors in
the neighbourhood.* At the time of the taking of the Domesday
Survey, this manor was the property of Ealph Fitzhubert. It
appears from Thoroton, that Geoffrey Fitz-Peter purchased the
manor of Sir Richard de "Wyverton for Welbeck Abbey ; but the
exact history of the manor at this period is rather puzzling, as
Sir Richard Basset also gave a portion of the manor to the same
Abbey, and both these knights held under Leonia de Reynes, whose
son, Henry de Stuteville, confirmed Duckmanton to that establish-
ment.f In the reign of Edward II., it appears as if the manor
was again held by the Stutevilles ;J but according to an Inquisition
of the reign of Richard II., John Tyrswell and others held eight
messuages, twenty-five bovates of land, and rents to the amount
of 24s. for the Abbey of Welbeck.§ In 1291 the Abbot of Welbeck
obtained a license for free warren over the manor of Duckmanton. ||
Though the Domesday Survey makes no mention of a church,

* Thorpe's Diplomatarium Anglicum JEvi Saxonici, p. 545.

t Dugdale's Monasticon, vol. ii., p. 602 ; Thoroton's Nottinghamshire (folio edition),
p. 451.

I Inq. post Mort., 16 Edw. II., No. 61.
§ Inq. post Mort., 20 Eic. II., No. 122.

II Calend. Eot. Chart., 19 Edw. 1., No. 49.

DUCKM ANTON. 379

there was one erected at Duckmanton in the next century, cer-
tainly as early as the reign of Henry II. (1154-1189). Geoffrey
Fitz Peter, the donor of the manor, also presented the church to
the Abhey of Welbeck. The Wolley Collections contain copies of
three charters relative to the granting and confirming of this
church.* The first of these relates that Geoffrey Fitz-Peter gave
and confirmed to God and the Church of St. James, of Welbeck,
and the Canons there serving God, of the Premonstratensian Order,
the Church of St. Peter,t of Duckmanton, with all its appur-
tenances, in pure and perpetual alms for the souls of himself, and
his wife, and his brother. This deed is undated, but one of
the witnesses is " Ranulf de Glanville, Justice of our Lord the
King." He was Chief Justice in the time of Henry II., and died
at the seige of Acre, in Palestine, in 1191. Geoffrey Fitz Peter
was himself made Chief Justice in 1198. By the second deed, Ivo
Cornwall, Archdeacon of Derby, certifies that he had instituted the
Abbot and Canons of Welbeck in the church of St. Peter, of
Duckmanton, on the presentation of Geoffrey Fitz Peter, and
granted to them to be the parsons of the said church, as they had
proved to be their right before the King's Justices at the King's
Court, in Westminster. This institution is not of later date than
1189. The third deed, which is also undated, records, that Hugh,
Bishop of Coventry, in remembrance of his sins and for the souls
of his predecessors and successors, grants and confirms to the
Abbot and Canons of Welbeck the church of Duckmanton, whose
advowson was acknowledged to belong to them, freely and quietly,
with all its appurtenances, to be possessed in perpetual alms, so
that they might lawfully convert the fruits and all the obventions
and possessions thereof to their own proper use, but that the Abbot
of the said Monastery should provide an honest chaplain, who was
to be presented to the said Bishop or his official, to serve the said
church ; that the said Abbot should account to the said Bishop, or
his officials, for all episcopal dues ; and that the said Abbot had
firmly promised that he and his successors would celebrate the
anniversary of the said Bishop's, and his successors' death. Hugo
de Novant, a Norman, was consecrated Bishop of Coventry and
Lichfield in 1186, and died in Normandy, 1199, being buried at
Caen.J

* Add. MSS., 6,667, ff. 378-680. See also Stevens' Continuation to Dngdale, vol. ii.,
p. 146. The Chartulary of Welbeck is amongst the Harl. MSS., No. 8640.

•f Later authorities, such as the Liber Regis, represent the dedication of this church
to have been St. Peter and St. Paul ; but these charters cannot well be gainsayed.

J Godwyn's Catalogue of Bishops, p. 256.

380 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

King Jolin formally confirmed the grant of this Church, together
with that of Etwall, to the Abhey of Welbeck, in the first year of
his reign.*

It is rather singular, after all this specific appropriation of the
rectory of Duckmanton, that the church should be entered as an
" ecclesia," and not as a vicarage, hi the Taxation Eoll of Pope
Nicholas, which was drawn up in the year 1291. Its annual
value was then estimated at £5 6s. 8d.

The following is the entry relative to the vicarage hi the Valor
Ecclesiastic-us of 27 Henry VIII. : —

DUCKMANTON VICARIA.
Abbas de Welbecke Patroness ibidem.

Dominus Jacobus WilkynsonVicarius ibidem habet communibus annis ut sequitur.

£ s. d.

In Mansione et glebis - xiij iiij

In paschali rotulo ----------

In Oblationibus ^j viij

In decimis lane et agnellorum xlvj viij

In decimis minutis - - - - -.- - - - - xiij iiij

Summa v

The same record, in the estimate of the possessions of Welbeck
Abbey, values the Eectory of Duckmanton at £26 16s. 2d.

At the dissolution of the monasteries, the King granted not only
the manor of Duckmanton, but the impropriate rectory and the
advowson of the vicarage to Francis Leake.

The benefice of Duckmanton was consolidated with that of
Button in the year 1558, and it is supposed that the church was
pulled down about that time.f Nothing whatever is known of the
fabric, except that it was situated in that part of the village known
as Long Duckmanton. There are interments in the church of
Button of residents at Duckmanton during the seventeenth century,
which seems to indicate the disuse of the churchyard as well as the
church. But the vicarage house remained standing longer than the
church, for a Terrier of Duckmanton, dated 1612, says — " There
is in the vicarage house one board foure yards-and-a-halfe in lengthe
slated and joyned on tressles, and one cubbord, both of them
erelooms."J

•Calend. Eot. Chart., 1 John, memb. 2, 4.
tLysons' Collections, Add. MSS., 9,424.

J Add. MSS., 6,671, f. 481, "Heirlooms," in this instance, may be regarded a« an
equivalent for " fixtures."

HEEE is no mention made of a church at Tibshelf in the
Domesday Survey, when the manor was held under the
king by William Peverel. In the reign of King John
the manor of Tibshelf formed part of the barony of Heriz, and con-
tinued in that family till the latter half of the fourteenth century.*
It thence passed by marriage to Eoger Belers,f and a few years
later, through his heiress, to Kobert de Swyllinton.J The church
of Tibshelf was given to the small Priory of Brewood, in Shrop-
shire, very soon after or immediately upon its foundation. We do
not know with any precision the date of the foundation of this
priory, but it was either in the reign of Richard I. or John. Nor
do we know who was the donor of the church of Tibshelf to that
priory, but. it was probably both built and presented to Brewood
by Ivo de Heriz, the younger, who was lord of the manor of Tib-
shelf at the close of the twelfth century. John de Heriz, son of
Ivo, gave to the monastery of Felley, Nottinghamshire, several
bovates of his lands at Tibshelf, to sustain two canons who should
daily celebrate mass in the church of Felly, for the souls of him-
self and his wife, Sarah. § When the Taxation Roll of Pope
Nicholas IV. was drawn up in 1291, the rectory (ecclesia) of Tib-
shelf was valued at £8 per annum, and an additional £1 is entered
under this parish as pertaining to the " Moniales de Brewode," so
that the Priory already possessed something more than the simple
advowson.

In the year 1816 the rectorial tithes were appropriated to the
Priory, and Tibshelf converted into a vicarage. || The prioress had

* Testa de Neville, and various Inquisitions. See also Blore's South Winfield.

f Inq. post Mort. 4 Ric. II., No. 14.

J Inq. post Mort. 15 Ric. II., No. 61.

§ Stevens' Appendix to Dugdale's Monasticon, vol ii., p. 133.

|| Inq. ad quod damnum, 9 Ed\v. II., No. 122.

384 DEKBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

to pay a fine of £10 to the king for the licence for this appropria-
tion.* The following is an extract from the Registrum Album, at
Lichfield, relative to the ordination of this vicarage : —

" The ordination of the Vicarage of Tibshelf. To all the sons of
the Holy Mother Church to whom these present letters shall come,
Walter,t by divine permission Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield —
Whereas we lately attending to the necessities of the religious
women the prioress and convent of white nuns of Brewode in our
diocese, and other urgent causes, have appropriated and assigned
the parish church of Tibbeschulfe in our diocese, whereof the said
religious women were the true patrons, reserving to us and our
successor the ordination and endowment of a vicarage in the said
church, the vicar to be presented to us by the said religious women,
and to be by us instituted and endowed with a competent portion
of the profits of the said church. And after the said religious
women, upon a vacancy in said vicarage, having presented to us Sir
"William de Gonalston near Southwell — We, Walter, have ordained
and taxed in manner following, viz. : that each vicar for the time
being in the church of Tibshelf shall have all the fruits and profits
of said church, the tithes of grain and hay only excepted, and shall
also have a moiety of the lands of the said church as well of the
better as of the worse, to be equally divided together with the head-
lands, containing meadows or pastures, as the same lye at the head
of the ridges of the said lands. Also the said vicar shall have a
certain small yard of the said church situate opposite thereto, con-
taining half an acre, for his mansion house. Also that he shah1
have a moiety of the hay of the said church as well as of the head-
lands as of the tythes." This document further proceeds to charge
the white nuns of Brewood to pay the vicar forty shillings a year
out of their share of the fruits of the church, twenty shillings at the
feast of St. Michael, and twenty at Easter. It is dated from
Eccleshall, on the 7th of July, 1319.

Lysons speaks of Tibshelf being appropriated to Brewood, in Staf-
fordshire, and the error is excusable, for the parish of Brewood
extends into the two counties of Staffordshire and Shropshire. More-
over, there was a Priory in each half of the parish, the former
county possessing a small Benedictine Nunnery that went under the
style of " The Black Ladies of Brewood," and the latter a Cister-

* Abbrev. Eot. Orig. 9 Edw. II., No. 20.

t This was Walter de Langton, who held the bishopric from 1296 to 1322. His
effigy, in Purbeck marble, is still in the cathredxal of Lichfield.

TIBSHELF. 385

cian Nunnery, the site of which is still known by the name of White
Ladies. The Cistercian Nunnery, dedicated to St. Leonard, was
also only a small establishment, being valued at the dissolution at
the clear annual value of £17 10s. 8d., and then contained six nuns.
According to the Va'or Ecclesiasticus, 27 Henry VIII., Margaret,
the last prioress of the White Ladies of Brewood, returned the annual
value of Tibshelf Rectory at £5 6s. 8d., but they had to pay a pen-
sion of 20s. to the cathedral church of Lichfield, for permission to
hold this rectory. The same return ^jives the following details of
the vicarage : —

TYBSHELF VICAEIA.

Dominus Thomas Sherebroke vicarius ibidem habet in communibus annis ut sequitur.

£ s. d.

In Mansione et gleba ---- xiij iiij

In pa.scbali rotulo ... xxvj viij

In decimis feni ---------- xiij iiij

In decirnis lane et agnellorum xxiij iiij

In oblatioiiibus --------- viij

In decimis minutis et aliis proficiis ------ xjii

Summa iiij xv x

Uude resoluta est annuatiin arcbidiacono Derbie pro scenagio
et procuragio ----- xvij

De claro iiij v iij
Decinia inde viij vj ob.

The rectorial tithes were purchased of the king in the next reign
by Thomas "Wieiine and Edward Slegge, but were subsequently con-
veyed to Sir Francis Leake, who was also patron of the vicarage ;
eventually they came into the hands of St. Thomas' Hospital. :::

When the Parliamentary Survey was taken in 1650, the Commis-
sioners reported " Wee think Blackwell and Tibshelfe cum membris
are fitt to be united, and the cure to be supported, alteruis visibus,
by one able and honest minister. One Francis Talleme, wicked and
scandalous."

In 1G93 the chancel of this church was presented to be out of
repair, and Mr. Gladwin was ordered to repair it. t

WTe are often at a loss to conceive how the erroneous conceptions
a-- to the patron saints of particular churches first find credence.
There is, now and then, a certain real difficulty about their dedi-
cation, arising from re-dedication and other causes, but these are

* Pegge's Collections, vol. iv. Sir Francis Leake beld a large amount of ecclesias-
tical property and patronage in tbis district. At his death he was seized of the
rectory of Huckiiall and the advowson of its vicarage, of the rectory of Alfreton and
the advowsou of its vicarage, of the rectory of Scarck'ffe and its donative, of the rec-
tory of Duckmantou and donative of its vicarage, of the rectory of Tibshelf and
ailvd\vson of its vicarage, and of the advowsous of Sutton and Pleasley. Add.
MSS. liiiijT, f. -2-2L Inq. post Mort, 3 Car. T.

t Pegge's Collections, vol. v., p. 173.

386 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

rare exceptions. It is, then, very strange to find modern Direc-
tories so constantly at fault in the special tutelage to which they
assign the different churches; they are absolutely, as far as our
experience goes, more often wrong than right. Tihshelf is assigned
to St. Peter ; it is, however, in reality dedicated to St. John the
Baptist.

The church consists of chancel, nave, north aisle, north porch, and
embattled tower at the west end. "With the exception of the tower,
and part of the chancel, this is a comparatively modern building.

The windows of the nave and north aisle are in the round-headed
assize-court style, pointing unmistakeably to the last century. On
entering the church by the south door, we see, on the wall before
us, a stone bearing the following inscription : — " The Church rebuilt
1729. William Heald, Vicar. "William Parsons, Churchwarden."
A monumental slab, against the east wall of the chancel, tells us
that "William Heald, the Vicar, died on the 4th of November, 1735,
aged 60. The general appearance of the interior is, as might be
supposed, very poor and unsightly. The three arches, dividing the
north aisle from the nave, are of a most astonishing design, and
the fine archway into the tower is not only blocked up by a hravy
aud far-protruding western gallery, but the top of it is also cut off,
as the architect seemed to be unable to give the roof sufficient eleva-
tion to include it. The archway into the chancel, as well as its
roof, are also of the same date, together with a vestry on the north
side ; but the east window is a square-headed example of late Per-
pendicular, having three lights with ciuquefoil heads. There are
•also two windows of the same style and date on the south side of
the chancel.

There are hardly any details of interest or antiquity in the in-
terior of the church. About the only one worthy of note is the fol-
lowing inscription, written in a text hand, on a square brass let
into the centre of a flagstone within the Communion rails : —

" Conditurn hie jacet

Resurrectionum

Quicquid caducum est

Johannis Twentiman

Peverendi Ecclesie

Anglicanae Presbyteri

Qui obiit V II Feb

Anno J Salutis M D C L XXX III
Christo \ Mt&iis L V II
Sub Christo miles per Christum Victor."

Under the western gallery is a handsome modern font of marble,
in tli" Italian style, a memorial to a lady of the neighbourhood.

TIBSHELF. 387

We inquired after its predecessor, but, from what we could gather,
it was of the bason order, and had no claims to antiquity. Looking
round at the unsightly pews, which are, we suppose, those inserted
in 1729, it occurred to us that possibly they might conceal other
memorials, or that certain monuments might have been destroyed
at the time of the re-building. But it does not seem likely, after
all, that such was the case, for we have failed to find any mention
of TibsheLfr in the various Heralds' Visitations, and Bassano, who
visited the church about the year 1710 (consequently when it
was in its old condition), finds nothing further to note than the brass
to the Rev. John Twentimau, which we have already copied, and of
which, by-the-bye, Bassano gives an erroneous reading.

The tower is a fair specimen of the Perpendicular work of the
fifteenth century, and closely resembles in its general features the
tower of South Normanton church, and others in this neighbour-
hood. There is a pointed window of three principal lights, with
a small west door beneath it, and the bell-chamber has four windows
of a similar shape and pattern. The battlements are ornamented
with four pyramidal pinnacles at the angles, and four smaller ones
in the intervening spaces; but these were evidently "restored" to
their present condition in 1729. The tower contains a peal of five
bells, only one of which has any claim to antiquity. Numbers one,
three, and five, all bear the inscription — " C. J. G. Hears, Founders,
London, 1848 ; " number two, " John Taylor and Co., Founders,
Loughborough, 1868;" whilst the fourth has the stamp of a cross
pate, followed by " Ihc. Maria," the letters of the last word being
divided by long intervening spaces. Until 1868, the belfry only
boasted of three bells, when two more were supplied by Messrs.
Taylor, of Loughborough, and it seems, from the inscriptions, as
if one of these must have been the bell with the ancient legend.

The door into the porch on the south side of the church is
boarded up, the chief entrance being now on the north. Entrance
can, however, be gained to the porch from the interior, when the
iv:iM>ii for the boarding up becomes apparent. The porch with its
stone benches, intended as a resting-place and shelter for thone
attending the services of the church from a distance, is utilised as
a coal-hole ; fully a ton, we should say, of great blocks of coal being
piled up under its roof, intermixed with a few uprooted tombstones
from the churchyard !

It only remains to note, that over the southern entrance is a mural
sundinl, bearing the date of 1813.

ffftorll.

*// 7/7 ^

1HE earliest historical mention of ^Vhitwell is to be found in
the will of Wulfric Spott, who, in the time of Ethelred,
largely endowed the monastery of Burton with lands
in Derbyshire. The manor, however, of "Whitwell, together with
several of the adjacent parishes, was bestowed upon Morcare, and
not, as Lysons states, upon the Abbey of Burton. At the time of
the Domesday Survey, Barlborough and "Whitwell were held in con-
junction by one Eobert, under Ralph Fitzherbert. A priest and a
church are enumerated, but to which of the two manors to assign
them we are left in doubt, though, we believe, the preference lies
with Barlborough, which was then the more important place of the
conjoint manor.*

The history of this manor is somewhat involved. At an early
period it was divided into two parts, if not three, and one of these
was subsequently re-divided. It is probable that the advowsou of
the church was subdivided in the same proportions as the manor,
which we have seen to be the case with the church of the adjacent
pari.-h of Stavelej*. There were also two parks at Whitwell.

Ealph de Eye, who was lord of one part of the manor, replied
to a Quo Warranto in Edward Ill.'s reign, that he and his ancestors
had held a park here from time immemorial ; his descendant of
the same name died seized of the manor and two parts of the
advowsou of the church in 1430; and the mouunieut of a third of
this name, who died in 1482, describes him as lord of the " ville "
and patron of the church.t According to Lysons, Edward Eye sold
his estates here, in the year 1563, to Eichard Whalley, whose grand-
son conveyed it, in 1592, to Sir John Manners, ancestor of the Duke
of Eutland.

* See the account of the church at Barlborough.

t Quo Warranto Roll, 4 Edw. III. Inq. post Mort., 8 Henry VII , No. 19.

392 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Robert de Meynell, who was lord of auother part of Whit well, was
au early benefactor to Welbeck Abbey. It is supposed that Robert,
of the Domesday Survey, was one of his immediate ancestors. The
heiress of Meynill brought his manor or estate at Whitwell iu moieties
to the Gonshills and Longfords, to whom reference has already been
made when writing of Barlborough and Eckington. The Longfords
retained their share till the reign of Henry VIII., when it passed,
together with Gonshills' moiety, to the Pipes, and was sold by
Humphrey Pipe, in 1593, to Sir John Manners.* The Gonshills
held the second park at Whitwell in 1330.

Another portion of the laud of Whitwell was held for many
generations by the Musards and Frechevilles. Ralph Musard held a
large share of Whitwell in the reign of Henry IV. In the chartulary
of Welbeck Abbey is a deed of this reign, by which Ralph Musard
leaves certain lands at Staveley for providing an altar-light, and
one of the witnesses to the deed is Hascuil Musard, parson of
Whitwell. t We are inclined to think that the advowson of Whitwell
for that turn had rested with the Musards ; that it was divided be-
tween the Musards, Ryes, and Meynells ; that the Frechevilles
(Musards) parting with their share, made Ranulph de Rye (1430) the
holder of two parts of the advowson ; and that the remaining third
was also absorbed by the Ryes in the next generation.

At the Inquisition taken on the death of Anker de Frecheville, in
1268, he was seized of four bovates of demesne and ten of villenage
in Staveley- Woodthorpe and Whitwell " de libero maritagio arnica?
(Musard) uxoris suse." The Frechevilles held these lands in
Whitwell, as weh1 as the manor of Stretley, till the sixteenth century.
Peter Frecheville by his will (1579), left his manors of Whitwell
and Stretley to his younger son, John ; thence they passed to the
Weutworths.*

In the year 1291 (Pope Nicholas' Taxation Roll), Whitwell with its
chapel (Steetley) is valued at .£20 per annum.

The Valor Ecclesiasticus, 27 Henry VIII., gives the following de-
tails of the Rectory : —

WHITWELL BECTOEIA.

Ranulpb.ua Rye Patronus.

Dominus Brianus Sandeford rector ibidem habet in commuiiibus annis ut sequitur.

£ s. d.
In pnmis in Mansione cum gleba --.-... ]jjj jjjj

Item in decimis garbarum et feni x

'Inq. postMort., 12Edw. I., No. 14; 16 Edw. H., No. 61; 3 Henry IV. No 52
etc., etc.

t Chartulary of Welbeck, Harl. MSS. 3640.

Jlnq. post Mort., 49 Henry HI., No. 10; 8 Henry VI, No. 82; Nichol's Col-
lectanea, vol. iv., pp. 14, 209.

WHIT WELL. 393

£ s. (1.

In decimis lane et agnellorum Ij vij

In decimis minutis - xvj viij

In oblatinnibus ---•-----.-- xx

In pasckali rotulo ---------- liij iiij

In duobus teuemeutis et duobus cotagiis- xx

Summa xx xiiij xj

Unde resoluta est annuatiin Archidiacono Derbie pro scenagio et

procuragio ------- xj vij

De claro xx iij iiij

Decima inde xl iiij

The Parliamentary Commissioners estimated the value of the
living of Whitwell at £100 per annum. They further report Mr.
John Rowlandsou, senior, the incumbent, " as an honourable
preacher.''*

In 1658, Mr. John Rowlandson removed to another living, and
the original presentation then made is preserved amongst the manu-
scripts at Lambeth Palace : — " To the Honourable the Commissioners
for the appointment of Publique Preachers, sitting at White Hah1,
John, Earl of Rutland, Lord Roos of Hamlacke, Fresbout, and
Belvoir, the true and undoubted Patron of the Rectory of Whitwell
in the county of Derby, seudeth greeting — Know ye that I, the
sayd Earl of Rutland, by virtue of these presents doe prefer Joseph
Swetuam, Minister of the Gospel, to the sayd Rectory and
parish church of Whitwell now voyd by Cession, John Rowlandson
ye elder, late Rector there, being removed to a better benefice, and
so in my disposeall, Desyreing that the sayd Joseph Swetnam may
bo admitted and invested in the full possessions of the Rectory
aforesayd, together with the rights, profits, emoluments, perquisites,

and appurtenances whatsoever thereto belonging In testimony

whereof I have hereto sett my hand and scale the 22 day March,
1658. Rutland, "t

The church, which is dedicated to St. Lawrence, is a fine cruci-
form building, consisting of nave, chancel, and north and south
transepts. There are also side aisles to the nave, a southern porch,
and a tower at the west end. The stone of which the church is
built seems well fitted for its pin-pose, much of the Norman work
still retaining the original boldness of outline. Whitwell quarries
appear to have had a certain local fame ; for we learn from the
Chartulary of Welbeck Abbey, that Robert de Meynell gave to that
establishment a quarry in his laud at Whitweh1, wherever it could

* Parliamentary Survey of Livings, vol. vi., p. 47(3.
t Lambeth MSS., 946, No. 5.

394: DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

be found most convenient, to build the church of St. James, and
other offices, and free ingress and egress for those that carried
necessaries for the building. His successor, also, Walter de Goushill
granted a right of quarry through the whole moor between Whitwell
and Belph, and otherwhere in the common pastures of Whitwell,
wherever it could be found, and free leave to discover, dig, work, and
carry as the charter of Robert de Meynell had mentioned.*

That a church of considerable size existed here in the Norman
period, is very evident from the appearance of both the exterior and
interior. A Norman corbel table, chiefly consisting of quaintly
carved heads, runs round the outer walls of the nave both on the
south and north sides ; and it is also continued on the north side
of the chancel wall, about four feet below its present height. The
tower at the west end, with the exception of the upper story— a
much later addition — belongs to the same style. The original
height of the tower is clearly defined, especially on the north side.
The semi-circular western doorway of the tower, ornamented with
the chevron pattern, and the small window above it, together with the
west end window of the south aisle, give further evidence of the
Norman period.

On entering the church by the south porch, the upper part of
the old Norman font lies right before us, although a modern one is
now in use. It is a massive circular stone, quite free from ornament,
but still lined with lead. It is sixteen inches high, thirty in
diameter, and ten in the depth of the bowl. The lofty nave is
separated from its aisles on each side by four semi-circular arches,
supported by three rounded pillars with plain capitals. There are
also above these arches three Norman clerestory windows on the
north, and four on the south side. The last specimen of this style
of architecture to be noticed, is the archway into the chancel. This
is a really fine-sized arch, with bold mouldings, from which the
super-incumbent plaster and whitewash have recently been scraped.

From these various indications it seems, then, that the church
at Whitwell in the Norman period wfis of much the same size, and
in many parts identical with the present structure, with the excep-
tion of the transepts. Owing to its capacity and strength, it
appears to have escaped interference during the period when the
Early English style was in vogue, but it underwent considerable
alterations and additions under the style known as the Decorated.

* Chartulary of Welbeck. Harl. MSS., 3,640. Dugdale's Jfotiasticon, vol. ii., p. 599;
and Stevens Addition, vol ii , p. 14U.

WHITWELL. 395

To this style (about the middle of the fourteenth century) belong
the transepts, as may be proved from the tracery of their windows ;
also the south porch, and chancel, which were then entirely recon-
structed. The two south windows of the chancel are good specimens
of the style, three quatrefoils being grouped in the head ; so also
is the large east window of four lights. The opposite wall is un-
pierced with windows, and, judging from the corbel-table on the
exterior, must in a great measure be the same that served in the
Norman chancel ; but a door-way on this side opens into a vestry
lighted by an effective Decorated window of small dimensions.
From the string-courses on the exterior, it is clear that this vestry,
or sacristy, formed part of the design of the chancel when rebuilt.
It is of the same date as the smaller one at Kirk-Ireton in this
county, and has probably given employment to the same architect.

In the south wall of the chancel are two sedilia, of a beautifully
ornate description. The tabernacle-work above the seats is carried
to a considerable height and is most effective. The seats are on a
different level, the eastern seat being a step the higher. Beyond
them is a small simple piscina in an ogee-shaped arch, of the same
period.

Various alteration? were made throughout the church during the
Perpendicular period. To that date may be attributed most of the
windows of the side aisles of the nave, and the top story of the
tower with the bell-chamber windows. The tower is surmounted
with four crocketed pinnacles of a debased modern style, the
chancel and the porch suffering in a similar way at the like date.
The church also appears to have been re-roofed throughout, at a
subsequent date to the Decorated period. The Perpendicular roof
of the chancel, though handsome enough in itself, has been allowed
by some strange perversion of taste, to cut off the upper portion
of the fine east window. The corbels of this roof terminate on
each side in two angels holding shields, a third one being now
missing. It is difficult from the floor of the chancel to make out
the arms with which these shields are charged, but those on the
north side appear to bear the arms of Rye — gu. , on a bend, erm.,
three ears of rye, sa.

On the floor of the chancel, on the south side, is a stone roughly
incised with the figure of a man. The figure, unfortunately, is
half hidden by the steps which lead up to the east end. From the
portion visible, it appears to represent a civilian, bareheaded, hands
folded, and wearing a close fitting dress gathered in plaits from

396 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

below the waist. On the opposite side near the vestry door, is a
large gravestone of magnesian limestone. The inscription which
runs round the margin is inlaid with pitch, which from constant
wear has in some places run into the stone itself, and formed, as it
were, one body, whilst in others it is altogether wanting. It is there-
fore by no means an easy task to decipher it, but the following
is an accurate copy, with the abbreviations omitted — " Hie jacet
Eadulphus Eye, quondam dominus hujus Ville, patronus ecclesiae

ejusdem, necnon vasti de Whytwell et Barleburgh, qui obiit

anno domini millessrmo quadringentesimo octogesimo duo (1482),
cujus anime propitietur Deus. Amen." In the centre of this grave-
stone, without a date, is a brass plate bearing some rhyming
verses in honour of a female. Bateman* says that this stone bore
a shield of armorial bearings, "Quarterly; 1st and 4th, Vernon ;
2, Avenal ; 3, Durvasal ; 2, Camville ; 3, Stockpole ; 4, Pembrugge ;
5, Vernon ; 6, Pipe ; 7, Culpepper ; 8, Bryan ; 9, Eye." Bateman
also gives the inscription in full. His version, though slightly
erroneous, supplies the three words that we have missed — " Capitalis
domiuus domini."

Against the north wall of the chancel is a stone slab, carved in
a similar way to the sedilia on the opposite side. This, however,
can only have been a much later imitation, provided that it was
originally constructed to receive the brass which is now affixed to
its surface. This brass, about a foot square, has the following
quaint inscription cut in modern characters : —

"AJX 1623, June 14.

Tobie Waterhous aged foure yeares and sive moneths, full of grace
and truthe, as a vessel not as ye fountaine, departed this life ye
youngest sone of Tobie Waterhous, Doctor in Divinitie, the youngest
sonne of Gregorie Waterhous Esq, the youngest sonne of Eobert
Waterhous, of ye Moote Hall in Hallifaxe in Yorkshire Esq, and of
Elizabeth Copley, daughter of Edward Copley of Southill in Bedford-
shire, Esquire.

Both life and grace in the sweet babe in paralells ran on,

When sudden death did seeme to make their points to meet in one,

But then on the did life and grace thy paralells attend,

Whose equall length keeps equall bredth now never meet nor end."

Above the inscription are affixed the arms of Waterhous impaling

Copley.

The greater part of the west wall of the north transept is taken

up by a very large monument to the memory of Sir Eoger Manners,

* Vestiges of the Antiquities of Derbyshire (1848), p. 236.

WHIT WELL. 397

knight. It is of that debased style, so utterly incongruous with
Christian architecture, that originated in the days of Elizabeth, and
prevailed throughout the Stuart dynasty. It is principally formed
of alabaster and must have been most costly. In the centre is the
reclining figure of the knight, much mutilated, especially about the
feet. Over it is written : — " In memory of the right noble, learned
and religious knight, Roger Manners of Whitwell in the county of
Derby, who died 17 July 1632." Below the figure are the follow-

lines —

" A living academic was this kiiigkt,
Divinity, the arts, the tongs, what might
In learned Schooles exactly be profest,
Tooke up theire lodgings iu his noble brest.
Till death, like church dispoilers, did pull down,
Manners true fabrique and the arts renowue."

At the north end of the same transept is an ogee-shaped sepul-
chral recess, with good open tracery in the archway. The recess,
which is two feet three inches deep, is boarded over ; but we were
told that it had been examined, and no coffin or remains discovered.
The hood-mould of the arch rests, on one side, on a female head
wearing a square-cut head-dress with falling lappets ; and, on the
other side, on a man's head, bearded, and the hair in a triple row
of curls. This recess was probably Intended, whether it was ever
used or not, for the last resting-place of the founder of these tran-
septs. In the east windows of this transept, as weU as in the
east window of the chancel, are a number of disconnected frag-
ments of old glass, from which little can be gathered, except
that many of them have originally been used in heraldic display.
In the south-east angle, are the pointed doorway and three steps
that formerly led to the rood-loft.

The south transept contains no monumental remains, but behind
one of the pews against the south wall is a small piscina, identical
in size and shape with the one already mentioned in the chancel.
It is somewhat mutilated, having been barbarously levelled with the
wall to make room for a pew-back. From the east wall project at
intervals three plain brackets for saints. Among the carved bosses
of the roof of this transept may be noticed one bearing a bend,
between six escallops (Frecheville).

The visit made by Bassauo to this church, in 1710, does not give
us much information, but he noticed the boss with the Frecheville
arms, which he describes as being " in the roof of St. Lawrence's
quire." He also records in the north window of the north aisle
"Verrie, az., and 2 lyons passant gardant, or." The first of these

398 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

coats was for Meynell, arid the second for Pipe. The connection
of these two families, as well as that of Frecheville, with Whitwell,
has been already explained.

In the churchyard, at the south-east angle of the chancel, he
describes " even with ye grass roots an old stone effigy of priest in
canonical vestments, head shaved." This effigy was here just a
century later, when Lysons' Church Notes * were compiled ; but
it was so much deteriorated by the weather, as to be styled ' ' the
mutilated effigy of a lady in stone." The latter MSS. also describe
an ancient Norman tympanum, over the chancel door, three feet
six inches by ten inches, and inscribed with " Norman circles,"
and a dragon with a foliated tail.

The tower possesses but three bells : one has no inscription
whatever; a second " Wil. Kowbotham, B. Starkey, Churchwardens."
and the third, " Gloria in Excelsis," round the haunch in Lorn-
bardic capitals.

*Add. MSS. 9463.

STEETLEY. 399

of £

T appears that Steetley,* which has BOW for some time been
considered as a chapel of "\Vhitwell, was also thus esteemed
for some time after its first foundation. For the Taxation
Roll of 1291 does not make any separate mention of Steetley, but
simply speaks of " Whitwell cum capella." But for a long period
in the next century, and for some time subsequent, Steetley was re-
garded as a separate parish, and the benefice as a distinct rectory.
A deed of the latter part of the reign of Edward III. is extant,
relative to the manor of Alvaston, in which mention is made of
" Robertus de Smeton, rector ecclesias de Steteley," t and Lysons
states that presentations were made to the rectory in the years
1348, 1355, and 1370, by the Vavasors and Frechevilles who held
the manor. An Inquisition, taken at Chesterfield in 1391, on the
death of Anker Frecheville, shows that he held one messuage and a
bovate of land at Steetley, together with the advowson of the church
of the same place. j This property was held by him under the
Vavasours, and was left to his younger son Gervase. It remained
in the Frecheville family till the reign of Elizabeth, when it was
conveyed to the Wentworths.* Both the Valor Ecclesiasticus of
Henry VIII. , and the Parliamentary Survey of 1650, are silent as
to the church of Steetley.

The ancient church, now long since desecrated, is usually spoken
of as a Saxon edifice. The earliest date, however, to which it can

* There are six plates and a ground plan of Steetley Church in Lysons' Derby-
shire ; a plate and description in the xxx Volume of the Archaeological Association ;
three plates and descriptions in Worksop, the Dukern, and Sherwood Forest. Mr.
"White, of Worksop, also published, in I860, a work on this church, fully illustrated by
photographs.

fNichol's Collectanea, vol. iv. p. 199.
J Inq. post Mort. 14, Ric II., No. 14.

; Lysons is in error in suggesting 1571, as the date of this conveyance, for the will
of Peter Frecheville, leaving the manor of Steetley to his younger son John, is dated
17ih August, 1579.

400 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

be assigned is that of the first half of the twelfth century, pro-
bably during the reign of Stephen (1135-1154). The Chartulary of
Welbeck* proves that Steetley was held, shortly after the Domesday
Survey, by Gley de Briton. Gley had four sous, one of whom was
a witness to the foundation charter of "Welbeck, iii 1154. None of
the sons left issue, and their sister Matilda brought the property to
Eobert le Vavasor. It seems, then, probable that the church was
built by either Gley de Briton or one of his sons.

The building is quite a gern of early architectural art, indeed it is
one of the most complete and beautiful specimens of Normau work
on a small scale that can be met with anywhere in this country or
in Normandy .f

The church consists of a nave and chancel, each of them being
twenty-six feet in length. The nave is fifteen feet broad, and the
chancel somewhat narrower. The south doorway is richly orna-
mented. It consists of three receding semicircular arches, the outer
one of which has the chevron, the second the beak-head, and the
third a plain moulding. The shafts supporting the outer arch are
richly carved with medallions, which are much worn, but are sup-
posed to represent the twelve signs of the Zodiac. The smaller
doorway on the north side is blocked up. The remainder of the
exterior of the nave, and of the chancel as far as the commence-
ment of the apse, is of a plain description. There is a very small
round-headed light in the south wall of the nave, and two at the
west end, one above the other. In the south wall of the chancel is
to be found the only alteration which this building has undergone
diiring subsequent styles. It is a pointed Decorated window, inserted
in the place of two smaller Norman lights. The east end of the
chancel terminates in an apse,:}: and we here find very effective work
on the exterior. The apse is supported by five round- edged pilaster

*Harl. MSS., 3640.

t In many of its features there is considerable resemblance between the Church of
Steetley, and those of Kilpeck in Herefordshire, and East Ham, in Essex ; but there
is really a striking resemblance between Steetley and the twelfth century chapel of
St. Julian, at Petit Quevilly, near Rouen. The chapel of St. Julian is of the ^,
interest ; both the apse and the chancel still retain the original groined roof of stone,
and much of the ancient colouring, happily effected with two shades of blue, choco-
late, and buff, has been recently exposed during a judicious and simple restoration.
If the restoration of Steetley is seriously contemplated, careful notes should be made
of the chapel at Petit Quevilly. St. Julian is far richer in arcade-work in the interior,
but it lacks the special characteiistic beauty of Steetley— the external stringcourse,
pilasters, and cornice of the apse.

J The apse, which is the usual termination to the east end of churches in Germany,
and not unfrequently met with in France, is but of rare occurrence in England, ami
then almost invariably among those which have retained in entirety the original
Norman construction. This is the only instance of its occurrence in Derbyshire or
the adjacent counties, though there is no doubt that the original terminations both to
the chancel and side aisles of the fine old Norman church of Melbourne were semi-
circular in shape.

STEETLEY. 401

buttresses, connected by a broad stringcourse, or belt, delicately
carved with interlacing foliage. Above this unique belt, which
encircles the middle of the apse, are three small round-headed win-
dows of excellent design.

On entering the church we are struck with the beauty of the
chancel arch. It is ornamented with a triple series of mouldings,
the first being an escalloped border over reticulated cones, the second
the embattled, and the third the chevron moulding. The capitals on
the north side are curiously carved with a representation of St.
George and the Dragon, and a double-bodied lion. St. George is
represented in armour and a conical helmet, with a kite-shaped
shield on his left arm ; the dragon's tail is continued to a great
length, and finally terminates in branching foliage.

The arch into the apse is simply surrounded by the billet mould-
ing, but the capitals of the shafts are handsomely carved with foliage.
The apse is vaulted with stone, and is supported by four well-
moulded ribs or groins ornamented with the beak-head design. At
the junction of these ribs, in the centre of the roof, is an oval
medallion carved with an Agnus Dei. The capitals of the four
engaged shafts, from which the ribs spring, are all beautifully
designed, the most striking one representing the temptation of
Adam and Eve. There are some slight remains of colour in
the roof of the apse. Both nave and chancel are now destitute
of roofs ; the former has had no covering for about a century
and a half, but the chancel is represented as tiled, with a gable
roof in one of Lysons' plates, published in 1817.

The Kev. J. Stacye mentioned, at the visit of the British
Archaeological Association to this chapel in 1873, that " this
apse was in a very ruinous state, but was carefuUy rebuilt by
the Earl of Surrey, afterwards Duke of Norfolk, the then owner,
about forty years ago. The walls were found to have had a
coating of very fine plaster. In the surrounding yard several
skeletons were also then found. "* The Association suggested the
covering in of the remainder of the chapel, to preserve it from
further decay, and we learn that this step is already in contempla-
tion. But such an undertaking will require the greatest caution, and
should only be undertaken by a thoroughly competent and pains-
taking architect, or otherwise we shah1 run the risk of having
this exquisite gem "restored" into mere conventional smug-
ness. Better far that its area should still continue to serve as a

* Journal of the Archceotogical Association, vol. zxz. p. 114.

2D

402 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

poultry-yard (with all its concomitant nuisances), as was the case
at the time of our visit, than that this should occur.

The diary of Abraham de la Pryme, published in 1870, con-
tains the following entry, under date, February 12th, 1G98 :—

"In a green meadow close in Stickley, near or in Shire
Oaks, in or near Worsop, stands a staitly well-built chapel, all
arched roofed, excellently enambled and gilt; the lead that
covered the same is all stolen away, so that the weather begins
to pierce through its fine roof, to its utter decaying." *

On September 2nd, 1742, Steetley was visited by Bishop
Littleton. He remarks — "there was ancient chapel, now con-
verted into a barn, which has the appearance of very great an-
tiquity. 'Tis small and dark, having a few windows, and those
in the upper part of the building just under the roof. The
chancel is a kind of alcove. The roof is supported by straight
pillars with springing arches from each of them that meet in
the centre. The whole is an uncommon structure. "t

We have failed to learn the precise time when this most admirable
specimen of Norman architecture was first suffered to go to decay, but
our inquiries elicited the following interesting reply from Mrs. Adin of
Chesterfield, relative to its condition of late years — " My father's
family on the maternal side, held for some years the farm upon which
the Chapel of Steetley stands, under the Duke of Norfolk. The
chancel was used by them as a shelter, and the yard as a fold for
sheep. That would be about a century ago. Some time prior to that,
upon the land in the Chapel yard being ploughed up, a jar was dis-
covered containing coins ; upon its being opened a paper or parch-
ment was found, with the words, ' Bather the devil than Oliver,'
written upon it. I cannot give a correct date of the circumstance,
but it has been handed down to the present generation by tradition. "J

* Surtees Society, vol. liv., p. 174.

t Hunter's Collections, Add. MSS., 24,447, f. 100.

1 Derbyshire Times, November 9th, 1872, Local Note* and Queries.

giHington.

HE old church of St. Bartholomew* at Whittington

pulled down in the year 1863, and the present one erected .
within a few yards of the original site. From a south view
of this building, taken in 1789, by Mr. Jacob Schnebbelie,t as well
as from later engravings, we find that it was but of small dimensions,
consisting of nave, chancel, south porch, and a low spire at the west
end. The windows at the east and west ends, as well as those on
each side of the porch, arc represented as filled with tracery of the
Perpendicular period ; but the window by the priest's door into the
chancel appears to be early in the Decorated period : whilst there is
a smah1 Early English lancet in the south wah1 of the nave. If the
carefully-finished steel engraving in Ford's History of Chesterfield,
1839, is accurate, it would seem as if the walls had been originally
erected in the last-mentioned of these periods, and that the other
windows are later insertions. The old font, however, is preserved in
the new church, and from it we may gather that there was a church
here before the Norman style had departed. It is circular at the top,
but tapers into an octagon shape. The diameter is two feet, and the
stone of which the font itself is composed, is nineteen inches high.
Together with the base, its total height is about three feet. It is orna-
mented round the upper margin with an escalloped moulding.

Whittington, in the Domesday Survey, is described as one of the
hamlets of Newbold. According to Lysons, the paramount manor,
which had been in the Peverels, was granted by King John to William
Briwere, from whose family it passed to the Wakes. The Boythorps,
and after them, successively, the Bretons, Loudhams, and Foljambes,
appear to have held under the families before mentioned as mesne

* Pegge says that it is dedicated conjointly to St. Mary and St. Bartholomew, but
not so the Liber Regis.

t Gentleman's Magazine, 1809, p. 1201.

406 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

lords ; but the immediate possession was, from an early period, in the
family of Whittington, whose heiress married Dethick. According to
the Inquisitions post Mortem, Roger Breton was seized of the manor
in the reign of Edward V., Robert le Breton in the reign of Edward
III., and Sir John Loudham in the reign of Richard II. Joan,
Countess of Kent, held the manor in the time of Henry VI., and
Thomas Foljambe died seized of a moiety of the manor later on in the
same reign. He had transferred the other moiety to his son Henry
in his life-time. Thomas Babington was also seized of it in the reign
of Edward IV., in the right of his wife Isabel, an heiress of Dethick.
Geoffrey Dethick was seized of the manor as early as the year 1820.
A co-heiress of Dethick brought it, about the year 1488, to the Poles,
who held under Foljambe. George Pole had two daughters, co-heir-
esses, who, towards the latter part of the seventeenth century, brought
this manor in moieties to Frith and Chaworth.*

Dr. Pegge, the celebrated antiquary, who died in 1796, was for
forty-five years rector of Whittington, and an interesting account of
this church was written by him three years before his death. This
account, which we now reproduce, is to be found in the introduction
to a posthumous work of his son :f "The church is now a little rectory
in the gift of the Dean of Lincoln. At first, it was a chapel of ease
to Chesterfield, a very large manor and parish, of which I will give
the following short but convincing proof. The Dean of Lincoln, as
I said, is patron of this rectory, and yet "William Rufus gave no other
church in this part of Derbyshire to the church of St. Mary at Lin-
coln but the church of Chesterfield ; and, moreover, Whittington is at
this day a parcel of the great and extensive manor of Chesterfield ;
whence it follows that Whittington must have been once a part both
of the rectory and manor of Chesterfield. Fig. 1 (referring to an
accompanying plate) is an inscription on the Ting-tang or Saints Bell,
drawn by Mr. Schnebbelie 27th July, 1789, from an impression taken
in clay. This bell, seen in the annexed view, hangs within a stone
frame or tabernacle, at the top of the church, on the outside, between
the nave and the chancel. It has a remarkable fine shrill tone, and
is heard, it is said, three or four miles off, if the wind be right. It
is very ancient, as appears both from the form of the letters and the
name (of the donor, I suppose) which is that in use before surnames

* Inq. post Mort. 16 Edw. II., No. 52 ; 24 Edw. III., No. 86 : 11 Eic. II.. No. 34 ; 21
Hen. VI., No. 36; 31 Hen. VI., No. 18; 6 Edw. IV., No. 29. See also Pegge's Collec-
tions, passim; Add. MSS. 6673, f. 121 ; and Nichol's Collectanea, vol. i., pp. 346, 355.

t Curialia Miscellanea; or, Anecdotes of the Olden Times. J. Nicholas, Son, and
Bentley. 1818.

WHITTINGTON. 407

were common. Perhaps it may be as old as the fabrick of the church
itself, though this is very antient. (The inscription, in Lombardic
characters, is as follows : — EICARD : L : E : FTZ : JOHAN.)

"In the east window of the church is a small figure of a female
saint.

" In this window, A. a fess Vaire G. and 0. between three water -
bougets Sable, Dethick.

" Cheque A and G. or a bend S. a martlet, Beckering.

" At the bottom of this window an inscription in black letter,
ROGERO CEIC. Roger Criche was rector, and died 1413, and probably
made this window. He is buried within the rails of the communion
table, and his slab is engraved in the second volume of Mr. Gough's
' Sepulchral Monuments of Great Britain,' plate xix., p. 87. No-
thing remains of the inscription but AMF.N.

In the upper part of the south window of the chancel, is a picture
in glass of the Saviour with the five wounds ; an angel at his left
hand sounding a trumpet. On a pane of the upper tier of the west
window is the portrait of St. John ; his right hand holding a book
with the Holy Lamb upon it, and the forefinger of the left hand
pointing to the Cross held by the Lamb, as uttering his well-known
confession : ' Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin
of the world.'*

"In the south window of the chancel is, Barry wavy of 6 A. and
G. a chief A Ermine and Gules. BarUy.

" Ermine on a chief indented G. or lozenge. (Morteyne.) In the
easternmost south window of the nave is A. on a chevron Sable, three
quatrefoils Argent. Eyre.

" This window has been renewed ; before which there were other
coats and some effigies in it.

"Jan. 1, 1793. Samuel Pegge, Rector."

In explanation of these notes of Dr. Pegge we may add that
"Whittington appears to have remained dependent on Chesterfield
until the incumbency of the Rev. M. Waddington, who was inducted
to the living of Chesterfield on May 27, 1616, when a dispute arose
respecting the claiming of the vicarage. By a decree of the Star
Chamber, made November 11, 1632, it was decided that Whittington
should be independent, but pay certain oblations to the mother
church, as well as find the sacramental bread for Chesterfield alter-
nately with Brarnpton. But this custom appears to have long ago
died out.

* Both these are engrnve<l in the Antiquaries' Museum, from drawings made by Mr.
Schnebellie.

408 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Amongst Dr. Pegge's manuscript Collections there are also many
other interesting particulars relative to this church, which have not
hitherto been published.* From this source it appears that a
rector of Whittington is mentioned in the year 1219, and that it
was probably styled a rectory as early as 1140. With respect to
the edifice itself, he says, " Some of ye old windows are no better
than loopholes. The north door of the church was stopped up in
memory of many persons now living. There are remains of other
loophole windows, two being now perfect. (These ' loophole win-
dows ' were probably of Norman date.) The front of the porch has
been ornamented with pillars in ye Norman manner ; there still
remains capital and base of that on the right hand." In the south
wall of the chancel were berth an almery and a piscina.

In 1785, the bells, being both of them cracked, were new cast
in Lancashire, with this inscription, " W. Spray and Jo. Harvey,
Churchwardens, 1785." They were first rung on Christmas-day of
that year. The old bells weighed 317 Ibs., and were sold at 8d.
per Ib. ; the new ones weighed 413 Ibs., and were bought at Is. 4d.
per. Ib.

Dr. Pegge was particular in keeping careful account of all his
expenditure, as rector, over the church. Thus, in 1786, he notes : —
" The chancel cieled by the singers about 1780, and cost £1 Is. Od.;
but being ill done it cost me £2 2s. Od. to repair it in 1786, and
whitewashing cost me 5s."

Bassano (circa 1710) notes several coats of arms in the windows
of this church, that had disappeared before the days of Dr. Pegge's
rectorship. These are : —
" In south window, a quartered coat,

"1.—

" 2.

" 3. Arg. 8 fusils in fess, guks. (Montague, Earl of Salisbury.)

" 4. Az. a chevron, ermine. (Lodebroke.)

" In north window, a coat illegible, impaling, arg. a chevron
between 8 escallops, gules. (Breton of Walton.)
" In west window,

" Sa. a bend between 6 escallops, or. (Foljambe.)"

With regard to the presence of these different coats mentioned
by Pegge and Bassano (to which we have added the names of
their respective families), in the church of Whittington, those of
Dethick, Breton, and Foljambe, will be readily accounted for, as

* Pegge's Collections, vol. iv,, et passim.

WHITTIXCTOX. 409

successive holders of the manor of Whittington. The families of
both Eyre and Barley held property in adjacent manors, and were
also intermarried with the Foljanabes. The family of Beckering
was connected with this manor through the Loudhams, for when
Sir John Loudham, the younger, died without issue, his sisters
brought his estate in moieties to Thomas Foljambe, Esq., and Sir
John Beckering. Joan, Countess of Kent, was allied to the Mon-
tagues, and the quartered coat partially destroyed when Bassauo
visited the church, was probably placed in the window when that
lady held the manor. The Montagues were large lauded proprietors
in Derbyshire, holding, in the fourteenth century, the manors of
both Eyam and Risley ; they were allied by marriage to the Dethicks.

The alabaster slab, to the memory of Roger Criche, is describe- 1
at length by Dr. Pegge in Gough's great work.* He therein
describes it as the figure of a priest in vestments, with a chalice
in the right corner, and a book in the left, adding, "the greatest
singularity in this gravestone is the portraiture of a little boy on
the rector's left side towards the bottom. This certainly is very
remarkable, since, after inspecting all the portraits on the monu-
ments in my books, I find nothing like it. "We must have recourse,
therefore, here to conjecture ; viz., that, as the rector of a church
in the fifteenth century could have no legitimate children, the
nolettus or campanarius, i.e., the youth that rang the sacring bell,
must therefore be intended by this small figure. Perhaps he might
die at the same time as his master Cryche, and be interred in the
same grave with him."

A more recent writer on Derbyshire antiquities, also, gives an
account of this remarkable stone : —

"In the middle of the pavement of the chancel of the church at
this place is a very remarkable incised slab of alabaster, represent •
ing a priest in his canonicals, with a lesser figure on his left
hand ; probably intended for an acolyte. The head of the priest
rests on a cushion with an embroidered border, to the right of
which is a chalice, and on the left an open book. There is a
defaced inscription of four lines above the figures, and a shorter
one of two lines below them. There is every reason to believe
that this slab covers the remains of Roger Criche, Vicar of \Vhit-
tington, who died in 1414."t

* Gough's Sepulchral Monuments, vol. ii., pt. ii., p. 39.

t Bateman's Vestiges of the Antiquities of Derbyshire, p. 236.

410 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

The family of Criche are known to have been settled in Derby-
shire in the reign of Edward II. They probably were of the
village of that name, but eventually lived for many generations at
Stubbing Edge, Ashover. William Criche, father of Ralph, AY!IO
was living in 1634, married the heiress of Sandford, and his second
wife was one of the Hunlokes of Wingerworth. Cornelius Criche,
one of the last of the family, lived to the good old age of 102,
and is buried in the chancel of Ashover Church. The Revolution
of 1688, which was initiated at the village of Whittington, was
commemorated with great rejoicings at its centenary in 1788.
Cornelius Criche was carried in a chair in the procession, as one
who had been born before the Revolution. He died in the follow-
ing year.

On visiting the new St. Bartholomew at Whittington, we were
much disappointed to be unsuccessful in our enquiries after the
slab to the memory of Roger Cliche. It appears that this interest-
ing relic disappeared when the new church was being erected. In
the tower of the new church is one of the 1785 bells from the
old building. In the brief biographical memoir of Dr. Pegge,
written by his son, it is said that " he was buried, according to
his own desire, in the chancel at Wliittington, where a mural
tablet of black marble (a voluntary tribute of filial respect) has
been placed over the east window with the following short inscrip-
tion :

"At the North End of the Altar Table, within the Rails,

lie the Remains of

Samuel Pegge, LL.D.,

who was inducted to this Rectory Nov. 11, 1751, and died

Feb. 14, 1796;
In the 92nd year of his age."

This monument remained for a considerable time in a disjointed
condition in the porch of the new church ; but, about two years
ago, it was happily affixed to the west wall of the church, at the
time when an enlargement of the vestry and other alterations were
effected.

The Rectory of Whittington was valued at £Q 13s. 4d. in the
year 1291, when the Taxation Roll of Pope Nicholas IV. was com-
piled. The Valor Ecclesiasticus, 27 Henry VIIL, gives the following
particulars relative to the benefice : —

WHITTINGTON. 411

WHITTYNGTON EECTORIA.

Decanus Lincolnensis Patronus.

Dominus Johannes Laurence rector ibidem habet in communibus annis ut sequitur.

£ s. d.

In mansione cum gleba ........ xvj

In decimis garbarum --------- jijj

In decimis feni ---------- xjj

In paschali rotulo .......... xvj

In oblationibus ---------- iiij

In decimis lane et agnellorurn ------- xvj

In decimis molendini --------- ij ii

In decimis minutis --------- vj

Summa - - vii xij iiij

Unde resoluta archidiacono Derbie pro scenagio et procuragio xviij

De claro - - vij x x

Decima inde - xv

The Parliamentary Commission of 1650 estimated the living of
Whittington at £60 per annum. They recorded that John Wolfen-
dale was the incumbent, " scandalous and insufficient."

infiplih

to

.

HE old parish of North Winfield is one of considerable ex-
tent, and comprises the townships of Clay Lane, Pilsley,
Tuptoii, and part of Stretton, together with the villages
of Ford, Hanley, Henmore, Williamsthorp, and Woodthorp. At
the time of the Domesday Survey (1086), North Winfield is men-
tioned as possessing a priest and a church, there being only forty
enumerated in the county of Derby at that date. The manor was
then held by Walter de Ayncurt, who also held the manors of
Brainpton, Elmton, Holmesfield, Stoney Houghton, Morton, Ogston,
Pilsley, Wadshelf, Wassington, and Williainsthorp. Besides all the
manors in Derbyshire, the family of Deincourts* (for thus the name
was subsequently spelt) were possessed, by favour of William the
Conqueror, of large lauded properties in Nottinghamshire, Lincoln-
shire, and elsewhere. Ralph Deincourt, sou and heir of Walter,
was the founder of Thurgartou Priory in Nottinghamshire. To
this religious establishment he left the whole of his benefices, in-
cluding two in Nottinghamshire, seven in Lincolnshire, and Ehnton
and Langwith in Derbyshire, " for the health of his soul, and of
his sous and daughters, and for the souls of his father and mother,
and for the soul of Basilia his wife, and of all his parents and
ancestors." It thus appears that the clmrch of North Winfield
was not left by Wr alter Deincourt to his son Ralph ; and it would
seem that he left it to a second son, Roger. For in the time of
Henry II., when a charter was obtained by the Priory of Thur-
garton, confirming the grants of their founder, many other and

*Dr. Pegge mentions a field in the parish of North Winfield, "near the dam,"
which was called Deiucourt in his days. On that spot he assumes that the original
mansion of the family stood, and that the family title of Baron de Ayncourt, or
Deiucourt, was taken from this place-name. A moor in the same parish is called
Ayn or Eyu-moor, i.e., a water or marshy moor. Pegge's Collections, vol. v., p. 2.
The site of this ancient mansion is still pointed out by tradition, and attributed by
the oldest inhabitants to the Deincourts.

410 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

subsequent grants were at the same time confirmed, and amongst
others one of the church of Winfield, by " Kalph the son of Eoger
de Ayncurt."* From this date the benefice remained in the hands
of the Priory of Thurgarton until the dissolution of the monas-
teries in the reign of Henry VIII.

The manor also fell into religious hands about the same period, for
it is stated in the Chartulary of Welbeck Abbey ,f that Eoger Dein-
court gave to the Abbey, to sustain three canons, the whole of his
lands in North Winfield, except the advowson of the church and
the bovate of Parkhouse, where the family mansion was situated.
John Deiucourt, his brother, was rector of the church of North
Winfield, and confirmed the grant to the Abbey, "for his own soul
and the souls of Boger and his wife Alice." The Abbot of Welbeck
obtained a grant of free warren over this manor in the reign of
Edward I.J The last court held at North Wiufield by the Abbot
of Welbeck was by Abbot Thomas Wilkinson in May, 10 Henry
VIII. (1518).§

Though the Deincourts had given the manor proper of North
Wiufield to Welbeck Abbey, they continued to hold the manors of
Pilsley and Williamsthorp, in this parish, for many generations, as
well as the land immediately round their seat of Park House or
Park Hall, which was on the confines of the parish of Morton.
John Deincourt, who died 7 Henry IV., married Joanna, heiress
of Robert Grey of Eotherfield. His elder son dying without issue
in 1422, and his younger one also in 1442, the male line became
extinct. The daughters and co-heiresses, Margaret and Alicia, were
married respectively to Ealph Lord Cromwell, and to William Lord
LoveU.y

But neither the Abbey of Welbeck nor the Priory of Thurgarton

* There is some little contradiction in the pedigrees of the early generations of the
Deincourts, which it does not seem now possible to clear up satisfactorily. See
Thoroton's Nottinghamshire, vol. i., p. 212, vol. iii , p. 54-60, and Dugdale's Monas-
ticon, vol. ii., p. 92. See also Blore's History of the County of Rutland, p. 150; on
the publication of this volume Mr. Adam Wolley wrote as follows to Mr. Blore —
" In your pedigree it is stated that Ealph Deincourt, son of Roger Deincourt and
Annora his wife, gave the church of Winfield to the priory of Thurgarton. I admit
that the church of Winfield was given to that priory by Ralph, son of Roger Dein-
court, but I apprehend that it was given by the Ralph, son of R. D., which Ealph I
take to be the nephew of Ralph Deincourt, the founder of Thurgarton Priory, and
not by Ralph Deiucourt (if there was any such person) the son of Roger and Aunora."
The original draft of this letter, dated March, 1812, is amongst the Wolley Collec-
tions, Add. MSS. tit>74, f. lUd.

t Chartulary of Welbeck, Harl. MSS. 3640, f. 301. Add. MSS. 6674, f. 105.
J Calend. Rot. Chart. 19 Edw. I., No. 49.
§ Add. MSS. 6705, f. 75.

Inq. post. Mort. 17 Ric. II., No. 16; 7 Henry IV., No. 30; and 1 Henry VI..
No. 24.

NORTH WIN FIELD. 417

maintained their exclusive rights in the manor and church of North
Wiufield up to the dissolution of those establishments. Thorotou
says Sir Ealph Longford possessed a moiety of the manor in 1513
by descent from the Deiucourts, but this we have not been able to
trace; and Thoroton does not seem to have been aware that Sir
Nicholas Longford in conjunction with Sir John Bussey were joint
holders of the whole manor, and patrons, in turn, of the church
of North Winfield in the reign of Henry VII., and Sir Ralph
and Sir John Bussey in the following reign. This is proved from the
chantry endowment and from the Valor Ecclesiasticus. They were also
joint patrons of Morton, and there was a window to their memory
in the church of Chesterfield.* We can only conclude that the
Abbey and the Priory had sold or leased their respective rights to
the families of these two knights. There is no mention made of
North Winfield in the summary of the property of Thurgarton Priory
given in the Valor Ecclesiusticus, but that establishment was then in
receipt of a pension of 15s. from Pilsley in this parish. From that
sum a deduction of 3s. 4d. was made in favour of Sir Ealph Longford,
and of 20d. in favour of Sir John Bussey, leaving 10s. of annual rent
to the Priory.

According to the Taxation Eoll of Pope Nicholas IV. (1291), the
rectory of North Winfield (Halle wyuefeld) was worth £20 per annum.
Under the temporalities of Welbeck Abbey, in the same record, are
entered two bovates of land at North Winfield valued at 10s. per
annum.

The Valor Ecclesiasticus, 27 Henry VIII. , has the following entries
relative to the rectory and chantry of this parish : —

NOETHWYNFELD RECTORIA.

Eadulpbus Longford Miles et Johannes Busshie Armigeri alterius vicibus Patroni.
Dominus Richardus Gwent rector ibidem non comparuit et habet
communibus aniiis ut sequitur prout patet per billain exhibitam

per Radulphum Gell firmarium ibidem.

£ s. d.
In primis mansionem cum glebis ------- x.xvj viij

Item in decimis lane et agnellorum ------ xlv

Item in decimis garbarum et feni ------- xij ix

Item in pascbali rotulo --------- iiij ij

Item in oblationibus ---------- xxiiij ij

Item in decimis minutis ut iu porcellis ovis ancis cauabo et lino - xj

Summa - - xxi xvij x
Unde resoluta Archidiacono Derbie pro scenagio et procuragio - xj vij

De claro xxj vj iij

Decima inde xlij vij ob'

* See the account of Chesterfield Church, p. 1 ">7.

2E

418 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

XORTHWYXFELD CANTAEIA.
Fundata per Radulphum Savage.
Dominus Johannes Wilson caiitarista ibidem Beate Marie habet ut sequitur.

£ s. d.

In primis mansionem et certa cotagia in Xorthwynfeld cum
quodam crofto dicte cautarie pertinente ac certas terras in cam-
pis ibidem v iiij

Item de priore de Lenton in pecuniis viij marc'

Summa v xijs.

Unde resoluta annuatim abbati de Welbecke pro capitale redditu xiiij

De claro - - v x x
Decima iude - xj j

It is somewhat singular that there is no entry relative to the
North Winfield chantry in either of the Chantry Rolls, preserved at
the Public Record Office ; nor is it noticed by the Rev. Mackenzie
Walcott in the list of Derbyshire Chantries that he supplied to the
Reliquary.* But the original foundation charter, of the 4th of
February, 1488, is at the British Museum,t and consists of a
parchment volume entitled — " The Foundation of a Chantery in the
church of St. Helen at Northwynfeld in Corn. Derby." It is in
fair preservation, but part of the first page is imperfect. From
this charter we find that Henry VII. gave license to John Babyng-
ton, Knight, and Rauf Savage to found a perpetual chantry of one
secular priest, to be called " the chauntrie of blessed Marie Virgyn
in the chirch of Seynt Elyn of Nortlrwynfeld." The priest was to
have an annuity of eight marks allowed him " of the rnonasterie
" or priorie of the Holy Spirite of Lenton in our countie of Not-
" yngham. The priest was to pray for the good estate of the King,
" his fully dere wyffe, Elizabeth Queene of England, and his best
" beloved first -begotten son, Arthur Prynce of Wales and Earl of
" Cornwalle, and of us the aforesayd John Babyngton, and Rauf
" Savage, and also of John Savage, knight, Thomas Revell ser-
" jeaunt of la we, Thomas Babyngton of Dethyck, John Savage of
" Hukuall, Thomas Orstou, and Edmond Savage, preeste, whiles we
" lif and liffen, and for the soules of the aforesaid when we shall
" passe oute of this worlde, and also for the soules of Arnold
" Savage Esqwyer, Agnes Leversage, and Helyn Orston, and all
" our ancestors."

The goods of the chantry, mentioned in the charter, are " a messale,
price of cs. ; two portifers, yt is to say, one to be lying and another
to be portative ; two challesses of silver and in partie gilted, weigh-

* Reliquary, vol. xi., No. 42.

t Add. MSS. 5152. There is also a copy amongst the records of the Nottingham
Corporation. Dr. Pegge gives extracts from it iu his Collections, vol. viii.

NORTH WINFIELD. 419

ing in both xi. ounces of sylver Troy weight ; and vi. chesihles with ye
apparells to save masse in." Mention is also made in the charter of
Thomas Tue, the first chantry priest, of Thomas Fitzherbert the par-
son of the church, and of " the worshipfull and noble men Nichol
Longford, Knt. , and John Bushy, Ivut., Lords of ye manor of North -
wynefeild and Patrons of ye parish church."

The license concludes with the following injunction : " That these
ordinances be not forgotten they shall on ye feast of St. George afore
ye beginning of high mass, and on Wednesday in "Whisson weke, be
read openly in mother tongue by ye priest of ye chantry in ye parish
church or churchyard."

Although North Winfield is not mentioned in the Chantry Rolls, the
chantry is enumerated in the volumes containing the " Particulars
for the Sale of Colledges and Chantries," where the mansion house,
together with an apple orchard pertaining to it, then in the occupation
of one William Wakks, a yearly tenant, is valued at £Q 8s. Od., being
sixkvn years' purchase at a rental of 8s.* The mansion was bought
ill by the Savages at the time of the sale of this property, and a
branch of the family resided there for several generations. The
parish register contains the following entry under the year 1650 : —
" 5 March, Georgius Savage de Chantry House, sepultus fuit." This
chantry-house, which adjoins the north-east angle of the churchyard,
has now, for many years, been used as an alehouse, and is known by
the sign of the " Blue Bell Inn." It retains many of its ancient
featiu-es, both external and internal, just as it was built in the fifteenth
century; but about three years ago it was unfortunately much
modernised in appearance, by the removal of the stone mullions from
the windows.

Thomas Fitzherbert, rector of Northwinfield, at the time of the
foundation of the chantry, was the fourth son of Ralph Fitzherbert, of
Norbury, by Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of John Marshall. He
was a brother of Sir Anthony Fitzherbert, the famous judge. He held
the rectory in 1511, as in that year he was one of the godfathers at
the baptism of James Foljambe, eldest son of Sir Godfrey. t John
Fitzherbert of Norbury, the eldest brother of Anthony and Thomas,
had issue — Nicholas, who married Dorothy, daughter of Sir Ralph
Longford. Dorothy was sister to Sir Nicholas Longford, who was
one of the patrons of North Wiufield. It therefore seems likely
that Thomas was appointed to this living by his brother-in-law. *

* Particulars for Sale, etc., vol. Ixviii., p. 243. Public Record Office.
f Nichols' Collectanea, vol. i., p. 359.

{ There were various alliances between the Fitzherberts and the Longford
the account of Chesterfield Church, pp. l.j!->.-;>.

420 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Sir John Babington, joint founder of the chantry, must have heeu
the Knight of Malta, of whom we have written under Ashover and
Dethick,* as the more celebrated Sir John, iu whose memory there
was a memorial window at Staveley, was slain at Bosworth Field,
in 14S5.

The long connection of the Savages with the manor of Stainsby,
in the adjacent parish of Hault Huckuall, has been explained at
length in the account of that church, and Eauf or Kalph Savage
was undoubtedly of that family. But it is not so easy a matter
to trace the exact connection of the Savages of North Winfield
with those of Stainsby. The south aisle of the Church was re-built
by this family, as we may conclude from finding their arms — fusilly
in pale — cut on the terminals of the wood-moulds of all the win-
dows, probably by Ralph Savage, at the very time when he founded
the chantry ; there were also formerly various coats of arms belong-
ing to the Savages in another part of the church. Both these cir-
cumstances show this branch of the family was of considerable
importance and influence in the parish. The mention of the arms
occurs in Wyrley's copy of Flower's Derbyshire Visitation of 1569,
with addition taken by himself in 1592.1 " Iu the church of
North Winkfield be thes Armes followinge, placed not far from
the chappell.

" I. Arg., on a saltire engrailed, sa., nine annulets, or (Leake),
impaling arc/., a pale fusilly, sa. (Savage).

" II. Rafe Savage. Arg., a pale fusill, sa., over all a bend sinis-
ter, gu.

" III. Savage, impaling gu., three legs in armour united at the
thighs, arg. (Isle of Man).

"IV. Savage, impaliug arg., three beudlets, gu., over all a label
of three points (Byron).

"V. Savage, with a crescent for difference, and over it written
'Arnold Savage.'

"VI. Savage, and over it 'John Savage junior, miles.'"

The first of these coats is explained by the marriage of Elizabeth,
daughter of Sir John Savage of Stainsby (and Clifton, Cheshire),
to Sir John Leake, as described in the account of Sutton Church.
Sir John Savage, the father of Elizabeth, married Katharine, daugh-
ter of Thomas Lord Stanley, Lord of Man ; and this accounts for the
third coat. Sir John had issue by Katharine (in addition to Eliza-

•Pp. 29,43.

tHarl. MSS. 6592, f. 88.

NORTH WINFIELD. 421

beth), nine sons ; John, who married the heiress of Veruon and was
slain at Boulogne (he would be styled "junior" in his father's life-
time, thus accounting for the sixth coat) ; Thomas, Archbishop of
York (see Button Church) ; Humphrey; Lawrence; James; Edmond,
a priest (mentioned in the foundation of the chantry) ; Christopher ;
Eichard ; and William.

Sir John Savage, temp. Henry V., knighted at the battle of Agin-
court, married Maud, daughter and heiress of Eobert Swynertou.
Their eldest son was the Sir John Savage who married Katharine
Stanley mentioned above ; but they had also, in addition to nine
daughters, four other sons, William, Arnold, Roger, and George.
We believe that this was the Arnold who settled at North Win-
field, whose arms were on the fifth coat in the window, and who
is mentioned as deceased in the charter of the chantry. The label
on the impaled fourth coat shows that it was borne by an eldest
son in the lifetime of his father; and we are inclined to attribute it
to Arnold's son and heir, whom we believe to have married one of
the Byrons of Nottinghamshire, but died without issue. The pro-
perty at North WTiufield thereupon passed into the hands of Ralph
Savage, the founder of the chantry, and who was of illegitimate
birth, as is shown by the bend sinister on the second coat. There
is good reason to suppose that Ralph was the illegitimate son of
Arnold.*

The Commissioners of the Commonwealth, 1650, reported the
rectory of North Winfield to be of the annual value of £'170. Mr.
W. Barton i- was then the incumbent " honest and able." The fol-
lowing is a list of the rectors of this parish from Thomas Fitzher-
bert to the end of the seventeenth century, taken from the parish
registers : —

Richard Gwent temp. Henry VIII., etc.

Ralph Weuwright ...buried llth November, 1578.

John Cooke buried 27th September, 1599.

Anthony Topham ...His son Anthony was baptized 17th January,
1630. He held the Deanery of Lincoln
together with this rectory.

* It also occurs to us that Ralph's mother may have been the Agnes Liversage
mentioned in the charter of the chantry. The account in the text of the North Win-
field Savages must not be taken as conclusive, but as founded with a considerable
degree of certainty on the very numerous pedigrees and other evidences of the family
that we have consulted. There was another branch of the Savages, descended from
a younger brother of Roger-le-Savage, of Stainsby, temp. Edw. I., amongst whom
the name of Arnold constantly recurred, but they were settled in Kent. Harl. MSS.
2094, 3. 40, 42; 4031, f. 260; 2075, ff. 56, 57, etc.; 807, f. 65.

t An agreement between the Rev. W. Barton and the rector of Morton will be
found under the account of that church.

422 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

William Barton 1650.

Richard Beresford ...buried 5th March, 1694.

Matthew Powell living 17U.

The parish registers are unusually perfect aud of considerable
interest in many of their details.* We take from them the following
entries relative to the fabric, etc., of the church.

"1633. Upon the first day of August, or thereaboute, their was a great clock plum
(weight) stolen out of the steeple, which was eight or nine stone waight ; some stronge
body did steal yt, or else it could not have been carried away, for I could not lift it
with one hand. At the same time there was a kaye left in at Booth (?) Savage house
(the chantry house), which did unlock the chappie door when they pleased to goe and
ringe when I was out .... and mauie times the church doores was left open
when I did never know of it, for by this means allso by going into the chappell win-
dos and breaking the . . . door into the chaucell at there pleasure. The church
was made common, and doores left open aluight inanie times.

" 1633. This parish church steiple at North Wiiigfield white lymed in September.

"1634. June 14. A new rail before our Communion Table made and set iii our
chancell.

" 1646. Ye chancell lead was bloane off at ye same time .... wiude fortie
yardes.

"1650. July. A new bay made in the east end of our church over the pulpit.
Alsoe a new church doore made (still in good condition).

"1718. This is to certifie whom it may concern, yt in ye year of our Lord 1718,
the loft, or gallery, in North Wingfield church was erected by the churchwardens of
this parish, viz. :— John Lillyman, Thomas Clay, Ralph Wass, and Samuel Harrison,
who, with ye unanimous consent of ye parish, for the defraying ye charge of so good
a work, sold such seats in ye aforesaid loft, as shall be hereafter mentioned to these
several parties, to them and their heirs for ever."

We will now turn to the church itself, as it exists at the present
day. It consists of a nave, side aisles, chancel, and two side chapels
on the northern side ; whilst at the western end is a lofty embattled
tower. Of the clrurch existing at the time of the Domesday Survey,
there are no remains hi the present structure, unless it be the dis-
carded font, or one of the incised slabs to which we shall subse-
quently refer. *•

At the east end of the north aisle is a Norman window, now
blocked up ; which, if it was opened, would communicate with
the chapel beyond, on the north side of the chancel. This is
of the late Norman period, approaching the transition to the next
style, as the arch is not perfectly semi-circular. It is enriched
with some clear-cut mouldings of the tooth or four-leaved pattern,
and the capitals of the side pillars, are well worthy of attention, as
they are of a most unusual design, and might, if taken by them-
selves, be attributed even to the Saxon period. Its date, however,
appears to be about the middle of the twelfth century, early in the
reign of Henry II. The archway connecting the north aisle with

bated by us, on the Parish Registers of North Winfield, to

Barest 4 5ns.Tu -SankPitctss

NORTH WIXFIELD. 423

the chapel at its eastern end, is also clearly Norman. It Beems
hi.dily probable that "Ralph, the sou of Roger," previous to bestow-
ing this church on the Priory of Thurgarton, re-built it, or restored
it, and this seems to be the only remnant of that structure. It
does not appear to have been interfered with in the Early English
period ; but, subsequently, when the Decorated style was in vogue,
and still later during the Perpendicular period, the church lost
almost all of its original characteristics.

On the south side is the porch. Its walls are unpierced with
windows, but the ogee archway at the entrance is of unusual width,
and, though now mutilated, has formerly possessed some good open-
work tracery. Above the crocket, which surmounts the doorway, is
a fair-sized niche, in which there is a figure, perhaps intended for
St. Laurence", naked to the waist, but minus the head. This figure
vidently not originally been sculptured for the niche which it
now occupies. On each side are two niches of equal size, but now
destitute of occupants. Within the porch over the door into the
church is a fourth niche, which is also empty. This seems to
point out that the porch was AU after-thought, and not in the
original design when the church was re-built in the Perpendicular
period. A careful examination of the porch convinces us that it is
in the main composed of fragments that have been previously
utilized in other parts of the building ; and it has been further
disfigured by churchwarden restorers, who have slated the roof on
one side, but left the stone tiling 011 the other. The south side aisle
was re-built in 1860, but upon the same foundations as the pre-
vious one. At the time of the re- building of the south aisle, an
interesting piece of sculpture was exposed in the south wall near
the east end. Including its crocketed canopy it is above four feet
square, and represents the martyrdom of St. Laurence on the grid-
iron. St. Laurence was Archdeacon of Rome, under Pope Sixtus
II., and suffered martyrdom on the 10th of August, 258, for refus-
ing to deliver up the church treasures to the Emperor Valerian.
After undergoing various preliminary torments, he was fastened
upon an iron bedstead or gridiron, and slowly roasted before a
glowing fire. It is said that, much to the tyrant's dismay, St.
Laurence found it but a bed of roses, devoid of all pain ; and upon
the Emperor's approach to witness his pangs, he calmly requested
that he might be turned round, as he thought one side was done
sufficiently. He is here represented as bound on the gridiron by
his hands and feet; there are three other figures in the sculpture,

424 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

all in alto-relievo ; two of them, at the head and foot, appear to be
turning him round, whilst a third stands behind, about the centre.
All these figures are much defaced. There is a very similar
sculpture in the church of Tuxford, in Nottinghamshire, which is
in better preservation. There the centre figure is engaged in blow-
ing the fire with a pair of bellows, which was probably the occu-
pation of the centre figure at North Winfield. At the east end
of the south aisle, behind the pulpit, is a blocked-up squint, that
once afforded the worshippers at that end of the aisle an oppor-
tunity of seeing the high altar. This has been plastered over level
with the wall in the chancel ; but has been utilized as a closet for
books, on the other side. The windows of this aisle, which are a
re-production of the old ones, are ordinary examples of the square-
headed Perpendicular. They are flanked on the exterior by shields
bearing a pale fusilly — the arms of Savage.

The north aisle of this church, together with the roof of the
nave and the clerestory walls, was restored in 1872.* The north
wah1 of the aisle was found, on the removal of the roof, to be so
much out of the perpendicular, as to necessitate its rebuilding from
the foundations. The windows in this wall were square-headed and
of a plain description, like those of the south aisle ; but the wall
itself, yielded evidence of having been originally constructed at a
much earlier period. The wall, when demolished, afforded various
small and perishing fragments of ancient incised slabs, as well
as a few portions of previously utilized masonry, that showed by
their mouldings a twelfth century origin. Some of the remains
were of more interest, of which we shall notice three : — (1) the
head of an incised cross of early date (probably of the first quarter
of the twelfth century, and possibly still earlier), the cross being

* A small landed estate was left in 1705 to trustees for the primary object of keep-
ing this fine church in repair, but these church lands were so shamefully jobbed,
that the condition of the fabric and its fittings had become a bye-word. The inter-
vention of Chancery was obtained in 1860, and since then, in 1861 and in 1872, por-
tions of the church have been put into suitable repair. Unfortunately the new
Bchenie did not insist upon the trustees being either residents or parishioners ; and
as they are a self-elected and irresponsible body, they have been able, on repeated
occasions, to set at defiance the expressed wishes of the parish in vestry assembled,
as to the application of these funds. These church lands now bring in an income of
from A'80 to .£90, a very large revenue for a simple parish church, and this income might
readily be doubled if only the trustees would consent to letting the land on building
leases, etc , etc., a project to which the Charity Commissioners have no objection.
The unfortunate reproach that still clings to this church could thus be at once re-
moved, and the future proceeds of the fund, in accordance with the scheme, might
then, after the parish and district churches were thoroughly repaired, be applied to
such other purposes as the Court might direct.

The writer of these pages was churchwarden in 1872, when he had the satisfaction
of discovering the fine remains of the old roofs of the nave and north aisle under
tli>' |il:i>ti-r ceiling, and of suggesting their exposure and retention. This was most
happily and faithfully carried out by Mr. S. Rolliuson, architect, of Chesterfield.

NORTH YVINFIKLD. 425

formed by a circle or annulet between four diverging semi-circles,
all unconnected ; (2) the base stone of one of the windows, about
two feet square, which was found, on being reversed, to have been
delicately chiselled in sunk relief into four panels filled with pointed
Decorated tracery; a stone which, we think, originally formed part
of the base of a rood-loft or other screen ; * and (3) a full-sized
toad, which was extracted, in our presence, from a recess exactly
proportioned to its body in the centre of the masonry .f The
inner side of this wall was inlaid with several coats of plaster,
On the removal of the outer coat, many traces of black letter in-
scriptions (with red initials) were partially exposed ; sufficiently so
to enable one to decide that they were scriptural texts, in the
vulgar tongue, of the Elizabethan period. Below this again, on
that part of the wall nearest the west end, and beneath one or two
other layers of plaster or thick whitewash, was the original coating
of the wall. We used the greatest pains and trouble to secure the
exposure of a very considerable portion of the original surface ; but
the upper coats were so adhesive, that we never succeeded in ex-
posing more than a square foot at a time, and that only in a
damaged condition. But various parts of a rudely-executed figure
in armour became visible, as well as the well-defined head and jaws
of some monster, with a staff in its throat ; BO that we have no
hesitation in saying that here was a fresco of St. George and the
Dragon, or some like combat. The colours used appeared only to have
been buff, chocolate, a deep red, and black. Probably this was a
portion of the frescoes which adorned the whole, or part, of the
church erected here in the twelfth century ; the incised slab,
and other fragments found in the walls, giving proof of the
yet earlier church that occupied this site, when the Domesday Sur-

* "It is not usual to find the chancel of a country parish church divided from
the nave by a stone screen ; but examples remain in the churches of Broughton,
Oxfordshire, and Ilkeston, Derbyshire, both of Decorated date." — Parker's Glossary
of Architecture, vol i., p. 332. There is also a stone screen at Chelmorton, in this
county.

f Derbyshire has given many contributions to the unsolved problem of the powers
of a toad to retain life in the centre of a block of marble or coal, but this was not
an instance in point ; for though the toad in question must have been in the position
in which it was found for a long period, it was not incased in a single stone, but
merely wedged in betwixt stones aud mortar. It is possible that there was a crevice
communicating with the outer air, and that through such crevice it might have
crawled in the days of its earliest infancy. We forwarded this toad by Her Majesty's
mails to that prince of naturalists, Mr. Frank Buckland, Editor of Land and Wafer,
and several paragraphs respecting it appeared in the columns of that paper. In an
amusing letter, acknowledging its receipt, Mr. Buckland wrote to us— "Your friend
is as lively as possible after his journey, and in excellent appetite. He is now
sitting before me on the inkstand, and eating flies from the end of my pen." But a
yet greater honour, and more startling change of scene, were reserved for this ecclesi-
astical toad, as it was shortly afterwards removed to the South Kensington Exhibition
of that year, and it may, for aught we know, be living still.

426 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

vcy was compiled. A plain pointed doorway, of the Decorated
period, and of small dimensions, was also opened out at the west
end of this aisle during the alterations ; but the chief improvement
effected was in the roof, which was previously of lath and plaster,
and in a most dilapidated condition. These laths, some time in
the seventeenth century, had been barbarously nailed on to the
fine old oak rafters of a fourteenth century roof. This roof is now
once more exposed to view, every particle of the old wood that was
sound being retained. It affords an example of a low-gabled roof,
which is a form of very unusual occurrence in aisle roofs, especially
in those of the north aisle. It is of the Decorated date, with
well-carved spandrels, and effective bosses on some of the tie-
beams.

The north aisle terminates at the eastern end in a chantry or
chapel, which makes, as it were, a small transept ; this is lighted
on the north, by a large plain window of the same description as
the other side windows ; whilst the blocked-op eastern one has
already been noticed. To the left of this window is a large stone
bracket for an image of a saint ; and to the right, there are ap-
pearances in the plaster, of the place whence another bracket has
been broken. The restoration of 1872 did not reach to this chantry,
but the winding stairs in the northern pier that separates the
chancel from the nave (which are entered from the south-east
angle of this chantry), were then cleared out and found to be per-
fect, as was also the doorway, that opened out upon the top of the
rood-loft screen that formerly divided the nave and the chancel.
To this doorway a door has been now supplied. At the bottom of
this staircase, and underneath the lower steps, was ft square recess
or closet of stone, which had probably once served as an almery for
the sacred vessels of the adjacent side altar. The top stone of
this almery we found to be carved on the lower side ; and, upon re-
moval it proved to be the upper half of a memorial of the rare
semi-effigial class, like the interesting one to Matilda de Cans,
described at length in the account of Brampton Church.* The
alrnery, of which this stone formed a part, had been clearly con-
structed since the erection of the stairs, and we think it very
likely was constructed in 1488, to retain the valuable chattels of the

* We had intended to give a drawing of this stone, but during subsequent visits to
the chun 1 1 wo have failed to find it. At the expiration of our year of office, the
various interesting relics found during the repairs were collected together within
the church, but having since been placed in the churchyard, several have disap-
peared, and all have been considerably damaged. But what can be expected in a
churchyard which is used as a playground by the village school ?

NORTH WINFIELD. 4'27

Savage cliantry then founded, which, we believe to have beeu
formed, by the enlargement of this end of the north aisle.

The clerestory windows of the nave, four on each side, were
(previous to the restoration) of the " churchwarden" era, and
destitute of all tracery, The heads are now filled with simple
Perpendicular work. The roof of the nave was hidden by a semi-
circular whitewashed ceiling of lath and plaster. To make way
for this barbarity, the corbels of the old roof had been cut away,
and several of the handsomely carved bosses in the centre of the
tie-beams mutilated. On removing this modern obstruction, a
considerable portion of the old roof was found intact. None of the
old rafters or small spars were left, and the boards over them were
also of a later date, but the ridge-tree, tie-beams, and purlins, all
plainly moulded, were in much the same condition as when first
erected, and so also was the most characteristic feature of this roof,
the bold trefoil tracery above each of the tie-beams, filling up the
space between the strut and the king-post. All these old details
have been preserved, and the roof, though plain in character, is of
OQQsiderable interest ; as woodwork of the Decorated period, especially
in roofs, is so rarely met with, and we attribute this to the latter
part of that period, circa 1350. It is therefore older than the
clerestory walls, or at all events, than the present shaped windows,
and also than the tower. It was probably retained when other
characteristics of the church were altered in the Perpendicular period,
on account of its solidity and excellent workmanship. On removing
the plaster ceiling, it was found that the Ten Commandments, in
black-letter of the same description as the texts on the north wall,
had formerly been inscribed on the east gable of the nave, over the
chancel arch. The upper half of each table that had been concealed
in the space between the old and false roof, was almost as fresh
as when first painted. This, and not the east end of the chancel,
was the place in which the Commandments were originally exhibited.
Injunctions are extant, of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, ordering the
painting of "the Tables of the Law over against the quire arch,
where the rood (cross or crucifix) has heretofore been."51

In making the alterations, it was noted that three of the lintel
stones of the clerestory windows had formerly served as i
memorial or coffin-lids. They still occupy the same position. One
of these had a pair of shears on the dexter side of the cross stern ;

* Full length daubs of Moses and Aaron were hung against the clerestory walls,
I corner of the north aisle. Oil the back of the canvas of each is
S. K. 1'iuxit, 17i#.

428 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

and another, the far rarer symbol, of the knife or bill-head, upon
which we have commented in the account of the church of Suttou.
There are two other instances of these incised slabs in this church ;
one in the floor immediately upon entering the south porch, which is
much worn, but the head of the cross can still be seen under the
hinge of the door ; and the other in the west wall of the bell-chamber
of the tower, where it is built in between the apex of the two windows.
The latter must have covered the grave of an infant, for its length is
only twenty-four inches. It tapers towards the foot, being nine
inches wide at the head, and seven at the foot. On its surface is an
incised cross fleury, standing on a pedestal of three steps. It much
resembles some of the smaller crosses in the porch of Bakewell
church, and is doubtless a memorial of the early Norman church.
Close to this interesting memento are four old paving tiles, that
have been worked up in the masonry with their faces towards the
wall. We removed one, but the action of the lime had been such
as to obliterate all traces of the pattern, though sufficient was left
to prove that they had served as ancient encaustic paving" tiles of
a former church. They probably came from the mediaeval tile
kiln, lately discovered at Eepton, which has been proved to have
supplied so many of the churches of Derbyshire and adjacent counties
with this handsome material for paving.

The tower is a handsome and massive erection of the Perpendicular
period, being more than one hundred feet in height. The lofty arch,
that ought to be open into the nave, is blocked up by the singularly
ugly and obtrusive gallery mentioned in the registers. It bears on
the centre panel an inscription proclaiming its erection in 1717,
and that the then curate gave £10 to the expenses. If this were
removed, the west window of the tower would then be seen, and would
add much to the beauty of the church. In one of the small top lights
of this window, is a well executed figure of a monk, in yellow and
white glass. He bears in the left hand a book, and in the right
a rosary. The bell-chamber is lighted by eight fine windows, two
on each side. It contains a peal of six bells.

I. This bell has no inscription whatever, and is a poor piece of
casting, with many bubbles.

II. " God save his Church, 1617." Though there is no founder's
mark on this bell, the style of ornament between the words of
the inscription shows that it was cast by the Oldfields.

III. "In Multis Aunis resones Campaua Johanuis," in Lombardic
lettering round the haunch, with the initial letters crowned. In

NORTH WINFIELD. 429

the same line with the inscription, is a cross formed of four
radiating fleurs-de-lis, followed by a small coin. The reverse of
this coin is presented. It has a cross patee extending through the
legend, with three pellets in each quarter. The legend is much
worn, but we believe it to read " Civitas Dureme," and that the
coin is a penny of the fourteenth century, struck at Durham. This
is a fine old bell.

IV. "Anthony Lyatt, Will. Holland, George Shaw, Peter Dowker,
friends to this Bell, 1661." Founder's mark of George Oldfield.

V. " Thomas Stevenson, Eichard Millward, John Breilsford, John
Dobb. 1617," round the haunch. In a lower line, the word "wardens,"
and beneath it the founder's mark of George Oldfield.

VI. " This bell was given by the parishioners of Staveley, &c., on
Wm. the Marquis of Hartington's coming of Age, the 21st May,
1811. J. Hears, London, fecit." It is singular to find this bell
at North Winfield, as we cannot imagine for a moment, that the
parishioners of Staveley were sufficiently generous to present a bell
to North Winfield. On referring to the account of Staveley Church,
it will be seen that the tower of Staveley has a bell with a precisely
similar inscription, and another presented at the same time by the
Kector. We can only conclude that a third was ordered of T. Mears
at this date for Staveley, but being found unsuitable, was subse-
quently transferred, either from Staveley, or direct from the foundry
to North Winfield.

In the third volume of the parish registers, occurs the following
entry : —

"Eeceived the 18th of October 1749, of the then Churchwardens
(that is to say) Will. Hopkinson, Tho. Boiler, Will. Parsons, and
Hen. Eooth, the sum of Twenty-seven pounds and eightpence, being
in full of all demands for casting the great Bell, fuzing Metal &
Hanging the said Bell. I say Eeceivd the same in Full. Per me

" DANIEL HEDDERLEY.

" Test. Eobert Parsons, J. Snibson, Clerk."

There is now no bell of Hedderley's in the tower, and it seems
that the one with the Staveley inscription was afterwards substituted
for this one cast in 1749.

There is a tradition that this tower had originally a peal of
eight bells. The capacity of the bell-chamber is sufficient to
admit of its possibility. There are traces on the summit of
the tower of the former existence of pinnacles, of some little
size, at the four corners of the battlements. These must have

430 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

added much to the beauty of the tower. Immediately below the
parapet is a cornice, formed of an alternate portcullis and uncharged
shield. The dripstone over the western doorway of the tower ter-
minates in two heads, the one being crowned with a ducal coronet,
and the other wearing a bishop's mitre. The ground floor of the
tower is utilized as the disagreeable receptacle for rubbish, and as a
sexton's tool house ; but words fail us to describe the loathsome
excrescence that has been erected, within the last thirty years
between the buttresses on the north side of the tower — suffice it to
say that it is a necessary adjunct to the school held in the vestry.
And this abomination was, we believe, erected with the endowment
money left in 1705, and has quite recently been re-roofed and
beautified from the same fund ! At the time of the building of
the tower, the arches and pillars at the west end of the nave seem, to
have been rebuilt, as they differ somewhat from the others, the
capitals being ornamented with inverted uncharged shields. Its
date would be in the commencement of the fifteenth century ; but
the side windows of the aisles and chancel, together with those of
the clerestory, would be fully fifty years later.

The chancel is in good repair. On the south side are two square-
headed windows, of the same style and date as those in the aisles ;
and on each side, which is ^somewhat unusual in a chancel, are
three similar clerestory or upper windows. The east window is a
good, though not uncommon, specimen of the Decorated style, its
date being about the year 1320. In this window are some remains
of old glass. The centre light contains two shields of arms, one
above the other. The upper one in heraldic terms may be thus
described : — Or, on a fesse, three water-bougets, arg ; the lower,
or, on a fesse, az., three crosses recercele of the field. The un-
charged portions of the shields are elegantly diapered with foliage.
Good designs of acorns and leaves, in yellow and white glass,
appear in fragments in other parts of the window. " The first of
these coats is that of Bingham or Bugge, both these families using
the arms, and both of them also, with the Willoughbys of Wolla-
ton and Eisley, having a common descent from Kalph Bugge, upon
whose name the water-bougets were intended to pun. The arms
were anciently to be seen in several churches in Nottinghamshire1,
as Leke, Cosgrave, Carcolston, and Fliutham, and also in Thurles-
ton church in Leicestershire." * Dr. Pegge, who took notes of this

* Extract from a letter to us by the late Mr. S\vift, of Sheffield. The arms were
also in Chesterfield Church. See page 156.

NORTH WINFIKLD. 431

church in 1780, states that the Binghams had landed property
at Senor in this parish.* The second coat is that of Paveley,
who held property in both the Winfields during the fourteenth
century. The Paveleys were also connected by marriage with the
Binghams. f

A small modern doorway, on the north side of the chancel, leads
into a large side chapel. This was formerly open to the chancel
through a good-sized lofty arch, which still exists ; but it is now
entirely blocked up, with the exception of the doorway. The chapel
is nearly square and of large dimensions, and has for a considerable
time been desecrated by being used as the parish day school.^
In one corner a fireplace has been built, and the exterior is in
consequence adorned with a red brick chimney. There is a two-
light window at the east end filled with Decorated tracery, and
another of the same date and size on the north side. There are
some interesting stone carvings in alto-relievo on the walls, under
Decorated canopies. That on the north wall represents two figures
standing up, about life size. The heads are gone and they are
otherwise mutilated. The figure to the left has wings, and the
subject may perchance have been the Annunciation. Against the
east wall is another carving, in the centre of which are two seated
figures, and on each side is a smaller one, kneeling. These, also,
are much disfigured, and they are all covered with several layers
of bright yellow- wash ! Under one of the school . tables, about the
centre of the chapel, is the raised effigy of a knight. This figure
is now almost worn smooth under the feet of the scholars, who
use it as a grindstone for their slate pencils ; but it is evident
that it was that of a cross-legged knight with his feet on a dog,
and having on his head a conical nasal helmet. This is evidently
older than the chapel in which it is now placed ; and it occurs to
us that it may be the monument of Oliver de Ayeucourt (Deincourt),
grandson of the founder of Thurgarton Priory, who was killed at the
battle of Lincoln, in the third year of the reign of King John (1'202).
These cross-legged figures were formerly supposed to represent
actual crusaders ; but, as this has in many instances been proved
to be erroneous, it is now usual to suppose that they were those

* Pegge's Collections, vol. v., p. 2.

f Mr. Swift was also kind enough to write to us at considerable length on this family,
and its connection with "WinfU-ld. See Blore's South 11'injield, and Thoroton's
NottinijJia'-nshire (folio edition), ]>.

* The Rev. H. Haukey writes to Messrs. Lysons, under date 16th December, 1816. —
" The school lias been kept in the vestry time immemorial." Lysous' Correspondence,
Add. _MSS., Ui2i.

432 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

who had vowed to join in a crusade to the Holy Laud. Others
again consider the position indicative of certain judicial functions.
Our own opinion (notwithstanding the voluminous essays on the
subject) is that the position of the legs was symbolical of nothing
at all ; hut that it was adopted, in the first instance, by a sciilptor,
either as a graceful, or a merely capricious variation from the usual
straight-legged attitude, and was subsequently imitated by the same
and other sculptors, as a successful change of fashion. There always
has been just as much of unreasoning fashion in the tombs of the
dead, as in the garments of the living.

In the exterior wall of the south side of the chancel is an ogee-
shaped low archway, forming a recess, under which is another stone
effigy of a knight in armour. This is of later date than the one
in the north chapel, about the middle of the thirteenth century in
the reign of Henry III. It is clad in chain armour from head to
foot. The hands are clasped on the breast, and the left side is
girt with a sword, partly concealed beneath a long kite-shaped
shield, which is uncharged. One of the legs has gone, but they
were apparently crossed at the ankle, and rested upon a lion. It
is most unusual to find an effigy of this description under an
external sepulchral recess;. and this particular effigy was certainly
never contrived for the position it now occupies. There is a tradi-
tion in the parish that this monument is to a Deiu court, and was
brought here many years ago from Park Hall, where it had been
discovered during some excavations on the site of the ancient seat
of that family. We believe the tradition as to its being another
memorial of the Deincourts, to be very probably correct ; but not
so with the other half of the story. It is more likely to have been
moved here from the interior of the church ; or (if it really came
from any distance) may it not have been one of the Deincourt
effigies mentioned by Wyrley as existing in Chesterfield Church in
the sixteenth century, which have now disappeared ?

On the other side of the church we find, beneath a spout of the
north aisle, the old massive font. On the occasion of one of our
visits it was full of water, and was being used as a wash-hand-
bason by the lads of the church school in their dinner hour.
From the systematic way in which they went to work — soap even
not being absent — it was evident that this is the purpose to which
it is generally applied. It is passing strange how the inhabitants
of North Winfield have for so long suffered this ancient font to be
defiled. In that rude bowl their forefathers have been christened

NORTH WINFIELD. 433

eight hundred years, and generation after generation been therein
dedicated to God's service. Surely if anything inanimate can ever
be venerated, this should be treated with all reverence and decorum.
But what can we expect from a generation who are literally being
educated in desecration, and who, during their school hours, are
gradually reducing to dust beneath their hob-nailed boots, the
effigies of those who received their baptism in this very font ? The
font is of rude early construction, the base being channelled in
flutings, and the whole of one block of coarse grit-stone. It is
very possible that it may have been the font of the church which
was here existent at the time of the Domesday Survey. The present
font is an ugly octagon construction, quite out of keeping with the
church, and bearing the date of 1662.

There is not a little difficulty in arriving at a true conclusion as to
the dedication of this church. Bacon's Liber Reyis gives the dedica-
tion as St. Lawrence, and this opinion appears to have been almost
universally accepted of late years.* The wakes, or feast, of this
parish are also regulated in accordance with the anniversary of this
Saint's day. But, as we have already seen, the foundation deed of
the chantry, in the reign of Henry VII. , makes mention of the church
as dedicated in honour of St. Helen. It was described as dedicated to
this Empress in the year 1401, t and even so late as 1644 one of the
Brailsford family is said to have been interred "in Ecclesie Sancte
Helene de Northwingfield. " | Under these circumstances, especially
considering the important nature of the chantry foundation deed, it
would be idle to deny that the parish church of North Winfield was,
in the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth centuries, dedicated to St.
Helen ; and as we know that no authorized change has since taken
place, that dedication must now be accepted as the true one. How
then can we account for the feast being regulated by St. Lawrence's
day, and for the current opinion as to its dedication ? We believe
that in this instance, as well as in others, the patron saint was
changed at the time of the rebuilding of the church ; or, possibly, at
some time when worship (which had been suspended during wars or
tumults, or for other causes) was resumed. North Winfield church
\vas thus probably dedicated, in the first instance, to St. Lawrence, but
subsequently transferred to St. Helen ; though the old custom of the

* Kelly's Post Office Directory of Derbyshire says St. Leonard, but there is no
evidence •whatever in support of this claim. The dedications, too, in this volume,
as has been already remarked, are more often wrong than right.

t Pegge's Collections, vol. iv.

J An extract from a Brailsford pediprrpp. forwarded to us l>y the late Mr. Swift.

2*

434 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

wakes still continued on the day of the first patron, whose name has
lingered on in connection with the fabric, down to the present time.

Re-consecration was not of unfrequent occurrence. Even so long
ago as the eighth century, it was ordered in the Anglo-Saxon Church,
that a church must he re-consecrated if the altar had heen taken away,
or if the fabric had been violated by murder or adultery.* At a later
period, the causes that rendered re-consecration necessary were con-
siderably extended. Nor, in all the consecrations of a later date, is it
obligatory to conclude that it was a mere repetition of the ceremony.
Strange as it may seem, this ceremony was not unfrequently omitted,
owing to the expensive episcopal fees, and from other causes. The
very first canon of the Council of London, held in the year 1237,
under Otho, the Papal Legate, refers to the dedication of churches,
stating, that, " having seen and understood that a great many despise
or neglect this sacred mystery, and having met with a great many
churches, even cathedrals, which, though ancient, have not as yet
been consecrated with holy oil ; to remedy this neglect we ordain that
all churches, which are completely built, shah* be consecrated within
two years," etc., etc. But even this stringent canon did not appear
to have produced the desired effect ; for, at a subsequent Council, held
at London, in 1268, a further canon ordained that a Bishop not
consecrating a church within a year of its completion, was to be
suspended, and that he should " perform the ministry of consecration
gratis, and without demanding anything at all except due procuration,
lest he be struck with divine vengeance, like Simon and Gehazi."t
At the time of these consecrations, or re-consecrations, it frequently
happened that the name of the patron saint was changed, not from
mere caprice or love of novelty, but because relics of that particular
saint were obtained for inclosure in the chief or high altar.

When St. Lawrence was deposed, as we conceive to have been the
case, from the position of chief patron of this church, it would seem
that his altar was removed to the east end of the south aisle. The
sculpture of his martyrdom, already described, bears us out in this
conclusion, and we know, of a certainty, from a statement of Dr.
Pegge's, that there was a subsidiary altar to St. Lawrence, in this
church, in the year 1401. At the same time, there were also altars
at North Winfield church to the Holy Cross, and to St. Mary ; the
former was probably placed immediately in front of the rood-screen,
at the east end of the nave, or possibly on the screen itself, as was
sometimes the case ; and the latter at the east end of the north aisle.

* Excerptions of Egbert, Archbishop of York 750. Excerpt, 141. Wilkins' Concilia
Magna Britannia, p. 110.

t Lynwood's Constitutioiies Legating Othoboni, p. 83.

QHtf}

Hinfcprg,

JHE Manor of South Winfield at the time of the Domesday
Survey, was held by one Kobert, under Alan, Earl of
Brittany, who himself held it under the illegitimate son
of the Conqueror, William Peverel. We do not then read of a
church being in existence ; but mention is made of one presbyter
or priest. As we have before remarked in these pages, no injunc-
tion was made upon the compilers of the Domesday Book to
enumerate the churches ; and it occasionally happens, throughout
the kingdom, that priests are mentioned, but no churches, as
attached to particular manors. It has generally been understood
that the mention of one indicates the presence of the other, but to
this ruling we cannot altogether subscribe. We fail to see why, on
the very same page of the original record, and within a few inches
of the entry of South Winfield, another manor (Markeaton) should
be described as possessing both a priest and a church, if there was
no distinction between them. We prefer to imagine, in this instance
as well as in many others, that the original Saxon church, con-
structed in all probability merely of wood, had been destroyed in
the troublous times immediately preceding the taking of this
accurate survey, and that the priest only was left. Be this, how-
over, as it may, the first historical mention of the church of South
Winfield is in the reign of Henry II. (1154 — 1189), when it was
given by Ralph Fitz-Stephen, the King's Chamberlain, to the Abbey
of Darley.* At the same time he presented to that establishment
the manors of Oakerthorpe, Pentrich, and Riplcy. But Blore says
that Robert de Heriz, grandson of Robert, the first holder of the
manor, " by deed, without date, remized and quit claimed to God
and the church of the Blessed Mary at Darley, aud the canons

* Dugdale's Monasticon, vol. iii., p. 58.

438 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

thereof serving God, his right of advowson to the church of
Wiiinefeld, with its appurtenances and liberties in pure and perpe-
tual alms, for the health of his soul, and of the souls of his wife
and his friends."* This grant was subsequently confirmed by his
son, Hugh Heriz. The grant, quoted by Dugdale, made by Ralph
Fitz-Stephen, probably only refers to the interest that he had in
the church as lord of the manor of Oakerthorpe. The church of
South Winfield is within the boundaries of Oakerthorpe.

It seems, also, as if the right to the advowson of this church
was to some extent in dispute and held in medieties ; for early in
the fourteenth century, according to the Chartulary of Darley Abbey,
Peter de Ulkerthorpe gave to that monastery his right in the ad-
vowson of Winnefeld, with four acres, near the church. t

The church is dedicated to All Saints, and consists of a nave,
side aisles, chancel, south porch, and tower. It does not require a
second glance at this edifice to convince the observer that the main
body of the church was re-built in that most unfortunate period of
ecclesiastical taste — the Georgian era. Nor is the actual date lack-
ing when the re-building took place. Over the entrance to the
porch are inscribed the initials " T. H. : B. B. Churchwardens,
1803." It is curious to note how rarely we can succeed in finding
the precise year in which our forefathers erected the exquisite
Gothic piles scattered so lavishly over our land, and how still more
exceptional it is to find any traces of the names of the founders on
the building itself ; they seem to have been content to raise a temple
without trying to perpetuate their own fame. But when, on the
contrary, the whole science of architecture had become but a
miserable travesty of the past, how seldom it is that we cannot at
once find, not only the date, but usually the names of the church-
wardens, in full length on the most conspicuous portion of the
structure.

The chancel, however, is worthy of attention, though most sadly
disfigured. The eastern angles of the wall are supported by two
diagonal buttresses of unusual width. The east window has four
large lights, and is now square-headed and destitute of all tracery.
It can plainly be seen, from the exterior, that this was not its
original condition, and that the upper portion has been filled at
one time with tracery of the Decorated period. This has been

* Blore's History of the Manor of South Winfield (1816), p. 16.

t Cole's Collections, Add. MSS. 5,822, f. 150. As to the different Chartularies of
Darley Abbey, see the account of Scarcliffe church.

SOUTH WJNFIELD. 439

destroyed at the time that the roof of the chancel was lowered to
its present low pitch. The same remark holds good of the two
windows of similar construction on the south side. Here, too, is
the priest's door with an ogee-shaped head. The hood-moulding
above it terminates on one side in a head, and on the other in a
small rudely-carved human figure of most quaint aspect. We
should place the date of this chancel in the latter part of Edward
III.'s reign, circa 1360. At this time, probably, the rest of the
church was of Norman construction ; but in the next century, every-
thing except the chancel was cleared away, to admit of a structure
of the Perpendicular period. Of this, on an external view, only the
tower now remains ; but there are traces at the west end, of each side
aisle, which conclusively prove that the same style was carried on
throughout the body of the church.

About the year 1441, Ralph, Lord Cromwell, acquired by com-
promise, after a lengthy lawsuit, the manor of South Winfield. He
was a man of great importance in the kingdom, and, amongst
other high offices, held the very lucrative one of Treasurer of the
Exchequer under Heury VI. To him is attributed the building of
the manor house at South Wiufield, as well as the castle of Tatters-
hall, Lincolnshire, and the church at the same place.

Nor can there be much doubt that he was the rebuilder of the
tower and body of this church. The tower exactly corresponds
in style with the time at which he was lord of this manor. It
has an embattled parapet and four crocketed pinnacles, whilst an
equal number of gurgoyles have served as waterspouts, though
the one on the south side has been broken off. The west window
is a fair sample of the Perpendicular period. The tower is sup-
ported at its angles by diagonally placed buttresses, which are
carried almost to the top, in stages successively reduced in their
projection. On the sloping surface of the first set-off dividing the
stages of the buttress, at the south-west angle, is fixed a small
upright shield. The action of the weather has deprived it of almost
all distinctive carving, but the lines still left on its surface, seem to
point to the arms of the Cromwell family. The north- west buttress has
two small shields in a like position side by side, but they are now
quite blank. This disposition of shields on buttresses is singular ;
we have only noticed it in one other instance, viz., on the tower
of the almost adjacent parish of South Normauton. But the sup-
position that Ealph, Lord Cromwell, was the builder of the present
tower, and the former body of the church, is strongly confirmed by

440 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

certain notes descriptive of this church which were written in the
year 1770, by Mr. Eeynolds.* He says that in each of the two
east windows of the side aisles there was "an escutcheon contain-
ing two coats quarterly. First and fourth, argent, a chief gules, and
bendlet azure (Cromwell) ; second and third, cheque or and azure, a
chief ermine. (Tatteshall)." It is almost needless to say that these
escutcheons disappeared when the present hideous roundheaded
windows were put in, about thirty yeai-s later. He further speaks
of the appearance of two chantries at the end of the aisles ; that
in the south aisle occupied by the Winfield manor pew, "railed up
to the top of the aisles," and that in the north by the pew of the
Strelleys, of Oakerthorpe, bearing their coat of arms and motto.
The pews appropriated to these two lordships still occupy the same
positions in the new aisles. Though the outer walls and windows
of the aisles seem to have been entirely renewed in 1803, the five
pointed arches, supported on plain circular pillars, which separate
them on each side from the nave, were retained.

Inside the chancel, in the south wall, may be noticed a handsome
piscina with a double drain. The niche has a trefoil head, and is
surrounded with good crocketed carving of the Decorated period,
though it is much choked up with plaster and whitewash. On the
opposite side is a plain square recess that served for an almery.
In the floor immediately below the piscina is a flagstone, which is
worthy of a moment's attention. It is of considerable size, and
divided as it were into three parts by horizontal lines. In the
uppermost division is incised a rude representation of a cross bow ; t
in the centre one are the initials C. M. A., and the date 1634;
whilst in the lower one is the following inscription, " Mary Toplis,
died August 18th, 1760, aged 61 years." The same stone has thus
been utilized to commemorate three separate interments. In the
centre of the chancel is another large slab, inscribed as follows,
"Here lieth the body of Mr. Peter Cotes, late Vicar of South "Wiug-
field, who departed this life the 26th of January, 1675, being 81 years
of age." On the walls are various modern monuments to the Haltons
and others, which do not come within the province of these notes.

But the chancel should not be left, without observing one of the old
funeral garlands suspended from a beam in the south-west corner.
These garlands were formerly carried before the funeral procession of

*Add. MSS., 6,701.

t This is, we believe, a unique instance of a cross-bow incised ou a tomb. Cutts,
in his Manual of Sepulchral Slabs, p. 41, says, "that a cross-bow has not yet been
met with."

SOUTH WINFIELD. 441

maidens, and subsequently suspended in the church. This beautiful
custom lingered longer in Derbyshire than in any other part of the
country ; but we are not aware of any other instance in the county,
except that of Ashford-in- the -Water, where one is still preserved in
its original position in the church. This garland is decorated with
rosettes and other ornaments of white paper, and is formed of a
broad hoop of wood, to which the segments of two other hoops are
attached, crossing each other at right angles at the top and forming
the upper part. Miss Seward, writing a description of the village of
Eyarn at the end of the last century, says : —

"Now the low beams with paper garlands hung,
In memory of some village youth or maid,
Draw the soft tear from thrilled remembrance sprung ;
How oft my childhood marked that tribute paid.

The gloves suspended by the garland's side,

White as its snowy flowers with ribband tied;

Dear village ! long may these wreaths funereal spread —

Simple memorials of the early dead."

And yet Eyaui and many another Derbyshire church has lost all
trace of these " simple memorials." May the one at South Winfield
be religiously preserved ! *

A miserable pretence of a font finds a prominent place at the west
end of the church, but the original one lies in the churchyard to the
north of the tower. It is of simple massive character, and lacks a base.
It is of a circular shape, one foot nine inches high, and two feet nine
inches in diameter. The inside of the basin is of corresponding size
and depth. In the rim are the staple holes by which the cover was
fastened down. There can be no doubt of its Norman origin, and its

* On reading this notice of the funeral garland at South Winfield, Mr. J. B. Robin-
son wrote to the Derbyshire Times, giving a description of the unfortunate person in
whose memory it hung. " This funeral garland, as was customary at the time, was
carried at the funeral of Ann Kendall, who died on the 14th of May, 1745. She was
a daughter of Peter and Mary Kendall, of the Peacock Inn, a noted Hostelry in the
parish, well known to travellers on the road from Derby to Sheffield in the old
coaching days, the change of horses being made here after leaving Belper or Chester-
field, as the case might be. Mr. Kendall was a man much respected in the parish,
and held the office of churchwarden. Miss Kendall is said to have been a lady of
great personal attractions; it is also stated that she used to dress in the then
fashionable style, with a hoop dress, which was so large, that she had to turn
sideways to pass through the doorway when she went to church. It appears that a
young farmer, residing in the same parish, who shall be nameless, paid his addresses
to her, and was received as a suitor. All went right for some time, until at last
came the old story, ' she loved him not wisely but too well ; ' the result was the birth
of a daughter, and his refusal to marry her. This preyed so upon her mind that
eventually she died broken-hearted. Before her death, by her own desire, the 109th
Psalm was read to her, and this is still known in the village iu Miss Kendall's Psalm.
It is also said, that her seducer was shortly afterwards passing the churchyard, and
the bells commenced tolling, which so startled his horse, that it stumbled and threw
its rider, whose neck was broken by the fall. The families of both the seducer and
the seduced are now extinct in the parish, but the facts are still remembered by
many of the old inhabitants. For my own part, I have a great desire that the old
garland should remain undisturbed. To my knowledge, there has beeu one attempt
made to remove it, money having been offered for its purchase, but I am glad to say
it was rejected."

442 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

very plainness points to an early period of that style. Here, then, we
have exposed in a churchyard a Christian memorial of greater
antiquity, hy several centuries, than any portion of the now existing
church. This treatment of our old fonts, on which we have already
had occasion to remark, is to our mind almost incredible. The great
sceptical poet, Byron, could write : —

" Even the faintest relics of a shrine
Of any "worship wake some thoughts divine."

And how is it that the reverence of Churchmen of the present day is
not roused, hy witnessing the studied neglect so often shown to the
font, in which whole generations of their forefathers were for centuries
dedicated to the service of God, at a time when England possessed
but one common faith ? If this rude bowl is not to be again put
into actual use, may we not plead for it a resting-place ivithin the
church, where it may be preserved from utter decay ?

A heavy west gallery blocks up the handsome archway into the
tower. The capitals of the jambs of this arch are ornamented with
several small shields, which may probably be still charged with coats
of arms, though now obliterated with plaster and whitewash. There
seem, too, to be traces of the original colouring of this archway, in
places where the plaster has peeled off.

The tower contains a peal of six bells, two of the seventeenth
century, and they are inscribed as follows : —

I. John Hatton caused this ring of bells to be cast, 1693.

II. Jesus bee our speede, 1693.

III. I H S. Nazaren rex Judeorum fili Dei miserere, 1693.

IV. God save his Church, 1731.

V. Gloria Deo in Excelsis. Johannes Hatton, donavit, 1736.

VI. God save his Church. Anno Dorn. 1847.

In the churchyard are two sepulchral stones, which should not
escape remark. Eeynolds, in his notes, to which we have alluded
above, speaks of three remarkable gravestones to the east of the
chancel. One, which he describes as the lid of a coffin, we failed to
discover, and conclude that it has been broken up or buried since his
visit. One of the others is a slightly coped slab, about six feet in
length, which narrows towards the foot. It has formerly borne a
plain cross in relief, the stem being formed by the ridge of the
coping, but it is now nearly flat. This we consider to be of the
thirteenth century. The second slab is of much the same size, but
has sculptured on its surface, in high relief, a full length effigy of a
knight. The head has no helmet, but appears to wear a coif of mail,

SOUTH WINFIELD. 443

whilst the body is clad in a mail hauberk. The hands are folded on
the breast. The feet and lower part of the legs are broken off, but
the legs have been crossed about the knee. This is also of the
thirteenth century, probably about the middle, or perhaps somewhat
earlier. Reynolds conjectures that both of these memorials were at
one time within the church itself. This could scarcely have been the
case with the coped coffin lid, but the effigy7 must undoubtedly have
been intended to be placed beneath a roof. Might it not again find
shelter ; for, owing to the very close proximity of a public footpath, it
runs every chance of being in a few years completely obliterated.

When we visited this churchyard, we failed to note the slightest
sign of an inscription on the slab bearing this effigy ; nor could we
hear of any tradition by which to identify it. It caused us, therefore,
some little surprise, when looking over the magnificent volume of Mr.
J. J. Briggs on Derbyshire Monuments, to find that it is there
described as the effigy of John Toplis. Doubtless the artist had
some good reason for his statement, but we have not been able to
trace the source of his information.

Fifty years earlier than the notes of Mr. Keynolds, was the visit
of Bassano to this church. The rood-loft was then remaining, but
he says nothing about the chantries, and only notes in a south
window, " Arc/., a bend, az., quartered with Cheeky, or and gu."*
The quartering of Tateshall by Cromwell may be thus briefly ex-
plained— Sir Ealph Cromwell, son of Ralph and Amicia (sister of
Eoger Bellow), married Matilda, the daughter of John Bernake,
sister and heir to her brother William ; this John Bernake was son
and heir of Sir W. Bernake and Alice, sister and heir of Eobert de
Tateshall. f By this marriage the CromweUs gained the manor of
Tateshall (or Tatershall) in Lincolnshire.

The church of South Wiufeld (Suthwynefeld) is entered in the
Taxation Roll of 1291 as an "ecclesia" worth .£6 13s. 4d. per
annum, and not as a vicarage, showing that at that time the living
was not appropriated to the Abbey of Darley, but merely in its
gift. But the tithes were soon afterwards made over to the Abbey,
and the vicarage of South "Winfield was simply endowed with the
whole of the obventions, without tithes of any description. But the
tithes of garbs, hay, wool, and lambs had been made over to the
vicarage before the Valor Ecclesiasticus of Henry VIII. was taken,
so that in point of endowment it very nearly resembled a rectory,

* These are the right tinctures ; Reynolds must have misread them.
fAdd. MSS. 6668, f. 935.

444 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

nothing but the glebe land being retained by the monastery. The
following is the entry from that relative to South Winfield : —

SOUTHWYNFELD VICAEIA.
Abbas Monasterii Beate Marie de Darley Patronus.
Dominus Richardus Keve Vicarius ibidem habet communibus annis ut sequitur.

£ s. d.

In primis in mansione cum pertinenciis vj viij

Item in decimis garbarum et feni --..-.*. xl

Item in decimis lane et agnellorum ------- xxx

Item in decimis minutis xvj

Item in oblationibus ---------- xvij iiij

Item in paschali rotulo --------- xxiij iiij

Summa - vi xiij iiij

Decima inde - - - xiij iiij

The same return, under the head of Spiritualities pertaining to
Darley Abbey, groups the churches of Mackworth, Crich, and South
Winfield together, valuing them collectively at £47 17s. 7d.

The Parliamentary Commission of 1650 estimated the annual value
of this living at £55, " Mr. Peeter Coates, present incumbent, an
honest able man."

LINBERY. 445

(£f)apelrg of

JHE manor-house of South Winfield was not erected on its
present site, till the days of Ralph Lord Cromwell, in the
reign of Henry VI. Previous to that time, the chief
manor-house was on the other side of the valley. John de Heriz,
the grandson of Roger who gave the church to the Abbey of Darley,
obtained leave from the Lord Abbot and Convent, for himself and
his heirs to have divine service performed in their chapel of Liu-
bery, " saving all right of jurisdiction of the church of Winnefeld,
in confessions, obventions, and all profits to the parish church of
Winnefeld, belonging as well of me and my heirs, as of all my
family and household, by a chaplain at the costs of me and my
heirs in all things to be and sustained. And know ye, that I the
said John, in the beginning of this grant, have faithfully promised
with my corporal oath thereupon taken, that if anything shah1 be
celebrated in the chapel of Linbery, in any wise to the hurt of the
jurisdiction of the mother church of "Winnefeld, it shall be seen
unto, and that if I shall retain any chaplain yearly with me, him
will I present to the Abbot of Darley, to whom the said Abbot shall
minister a corporal oath for the indemnity of the mother church of
AVinuefeld ; truly if any wise it shall happen the said church to be
hurt by the said chantery, it shall be lawful for the Abbot to inter,
diet the said chapel until he shall be reasonably satisfied by me,
or by my heirs, all appeals ceasing."* There is no date to this
declaration, but John de Heriz, the founder of this chapel, held
the manor in the reign of Henry III. (1216-1272). He died some-
time prior to the 30 Henry III., leaving his wife Sarah surviving,
who subsequently married a celebrated itinerant justice, Jollan de
Neville.

*Add. MSS. 6697, f. 165. Topographer (1789), vol. i., p. 570.

446 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

This chapel was situated near to the old manor-house, not many
paces from the Peacock Inn. There were some slight remains of
this chapel left in the year 1761, but it seems probable that Lin-
bery Chapel was suffered to fall into decay after the completion of
the fine new manor-house of Ralph Lord Cromwell. There was a
chapel to this latter manor-house, which was probably a detached
building at the north-east angle, but the traces of it now extant
are few and uncertain."*

* " Commencing at the N.E. angle, east of the Crypt, are to be observed the rains of
the -walls, now some seven or eight feet high (Plate" I.), possibly forming the W. end
of the chapel. It is stated, on very reliable authority, that still further east the
foundations of other walls exist, which were brought to light some years ago, but
have since been covered over again." South Winfield Manor, by Edmund B. Ferney.
But in Plate I. of Blore's South Winfield (which is a N.V7. view from an old painting)
there appears a building on the site supposed to be that of the chapel, that certainly
is not a chapel, if it is correctly rendered. A more modern building may, however,
have been then in existence on its foundation. Careful excavation might settle the
vexed question.

ingpptooptif.

|HEEE was a cliapel at Wingerworth about the year 1100,
for it was at the commencement of the twelfth century,
that William Bufus appropriated the church of Chester-
field, with its two dependent chapelries — Wingerworth and Bramp-
ton — to the deanery of Lincoln. The Dean for many centuries
held the rectorial tithes of Wingerworth, and also had the exclusive
appointment of the Chaplain. Pilkington is mistaken when he says
that Henry de Brailsford possessed the advowson of this church or
chapel in the twenty-fifth year of Edward I.,* for on referring to
the Inquisition, taken at that date, of the lands of Edmund, Earl
of Lancaster, we find that Brailsford held under him the manor
and church of Brailsford, and the church of Dronfield, hut the
manors only, of Unston and Wingerworth. t

The Brailsfords held this manor as early as the reign of Henry
II. It subsequently passed to the Curzons, by whom it was sold
in the reign of Henry VIII. to Nicholas Huuloke, an extensive
landowner in the counties of Middlesex and Nottingham, in whose
family it has remained to the present day.

The following letter, relative to this manor, was addressed to
Dr. Pegge, by Sir Henry Hunloke, December 29th, 1757: —

•• Wmgerwartfa manor was first hi the family of Brailsford, whose
only daughter married Basset, of Drayton. He had three daughters
by her, the eldest married Shirley, | ancestor of Lord Ferrers, and
had as her portion Brailsford ; the second married Curzon, of
Kedleston, and had the manor of Wingerworth ; the third married
Kniveton, and had the manors of Mercaston and Bradley. These

* Pilkington's History of Derbyshire, vol. ii., p. 328.

tlnq. post Mort.. '25 Edw. I., No. 51. Henry de Brailsford obtained a grant of free
warren on this manor live years later (Calend. Rot. Chart., 30 Edw. I., No. 30), which
ufirmed to his descendant Ralph de Brailsford in the reign of Edw. III. (Quo
Warranto llolls, 4 Edw. III.)

J Stemmata Shirleiana, p. 83.

450 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

marriages took place in the reign of Henry IV. Wiugerworth re-
mained with the Curzoiis till 1582, when Francis Curzon and
John Curzon sold it to Sir Henry Hunloke, my grandfather's great-
grandfather. "*

There is but little information to he gleaned respecting the
history of this chapel. In the year 1253, one Robert was " capel-
lanus de Wyngerworth," when he was a witness to the re-dedica-
tion charter of Brampton.t

At a later date, various disputes arose as to the nature of its
dependency on the vicarage of Chesterfield ; and it appeal's from a
memorandum, at the end of the first volume of the Chesterfield
registers, that, during the incumbency of Eev. M. Waddington, in
the reign of Charles I., the inhabitants of Wingerworth attended
Divine Worship, received the Sacrament, were baptized, and buried
at their own chapel; but that the Dean of Lincoln, as lord of the
rectorial manor, received all the tithes and emoluments of Winger-
worth, without any deduction. Neither the Taxation Roll of 1291,
nor the Valor Ecclesiasticm, contain any independent account of
the benefice of Wingerworth.

When Parliament ordered a survey of the . livings in 1650, it
was reported that " Wingerworth is a parochial chappell in parish
of Chesterfield. Sir E. Leech hath the irnpropriation and is to
finde a minister ; butt it is thought fitt that the chappell should be
disused, and that the said Wingerworth, with the part of Swath-
wick on the north side of Wingerworth, should be united to Ches-
terfield, except all those houses and grounds now members of
Wyngerworth lying on the south-west of Wingerworth Moore, the
which are thought to be united to Ashover."J

The Liber Regis is silent as to the dedication of this church,
and modern Directories, with their usual caprice, attribute it to
(1) All Saints, (2) St. Michael, and (3) St. Mary. We believe
that the first of these conjectures is the right one, as the feast is

* Pegge's Collections, vol. vii., p. 181. Dr. Pegge, the Derbyshire antiquary, was
an eminent pluralist, and held the perpetual curacy of Wingerworth from 1765 to
the time of his death. He was presented to it by the Hon. James Yorke, who was
then Dean of Lincoln, and appears to have spent much of his time at Wingerworth,
as he was on intimate terms with Sir Henry Hunloke. It is therefore only natural
to find considerable references to Wingerworth, amongst his voluminous manuscript
collections at the College of Arms. These are chiefly to be found in vol. ii., which
is arranged alphabetically, and in vols. v. and vii. Amongst the more trifling of
these entries may be noted one made on Trinity Sunday, 17(55, when the Doctor ad-
ministered the Sacrament at Wingerworth to "8 communicants, self and clerke," on
which occasion the collection amounted to Is. lid. ; but on the same day in the
following year the alms were only Is. 7d. !

t See the account of Brampton church, p. 109.

\ Parliamentary Survey of Livings (Lambeth MSS.), vol. vi., p. 457.

WINGER WORTH. 451

regulated by All Saints' Day (November 1st), though Dr. Pegge,
a century ago, considered it ruled by the Festival of St. Simon
and St. Jude (October 28th). But, in another place, he admits
that the dedication is probably to All Saints.

The church consists of a nave, chancel, north aisle, and tower
at the west end. From the general aspect of the exterior, no idea
could be gained of the real age of many parts of the building.
We enter the church on the south side, by a shallow porch — a
modern addition — which serves to conceal and also preserve a
round-headed Norman doorway. The jambs of this doorway are
ornamented with single shafts, almost isolated from the rest of the
stone work. The capitals are fluted, and further ornamented with
a narrow pellet moulding. The north aisle is separated from the
nave by three semi-circular arches, supported on two massive round
pillars. The capitals of these pillars seem to be very plain, but
they are defaced with so many layers of whitewash, that a proper
cleaning (such as that which the doorway has undergone) might
reveal further carvings. The archway leading into the chancel is
also of the Early Norman period. Considering its position, the
height of this archway is very moderate — it does not exceed eight
feet. The jambs are somewhat out of the perpendicular, and their
capitals are plain, though here again there is much super-incum-
bent whitewash and plaster. These details afford abundant proof
of the very early date at which a church was first built in this
situation ; they cannot be later than the commencement of the
twelfth century.

Of the succeeding style, the Early English, traces are still to
be found in the chancel. In its southern wall are three small
lancet windows. They are quite destitute of ornament, and their
dimensions are about four-and-a-half feet, by ten inches ; they are
early in the style, probably in the reign of the first Richard (1189-
1199), and they appear to be the only features of the church which
carry us back to that period of ecclesiastical architecture. When
the church was repaired, some thirty years ago, these windows were
happily preserved, although much of the chancel was then pulled
down. The pointed doorway, however, which was then introduced
between these windows, is by no means an improvement, as it cor-
responds with no other feature of the church, except the coeval
porch.

The fabric, moreover, does not possess any details that can pro-
perly be attributed to the Decorated style — a stylo which prevailed,

452 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

for the most part, during the first half of the fourteenth century.
There are, however, on the south side of the church, three windows
which belong to the early Perpendicular period, or, perhaps more
correctly, to the Transition from the Decorated to the Perpendicular
— circa 1380. These are all square-topped, and are deeply recessed
externally by about a foot from the rest of the masonry. Two of
them have only two main lights and are of small dimensions, but
the third is three-lighted and of about twice the size. The tracery
in the head of these windows, though plain, is worthy of attention
from the curious in architectural details, as it is of an unusual
character. The general arrangement of the windows on the southern
side may also be remarked ; for, though there is no south aisle, we
find three square-topped clerestory windows. On the opposite side
of the church, are three corresponding windows over the north aisle,
which is itself lighted by three more of the same design. The
centre one of these three was added at the time when the church
was repaired, and has taken the place of the north door, which is
now blocked up. The former outline of this door can be seen from
the exterior. The east window of the chancel has also been of this
description, though it is now destitute of any tracery whatever, and
is simply divided into three lights by two straight mullions. These
windows are all rather advanced in the Perpendicular period, and
are probably about a century later than the three southern win-
dows of which we have already spoken. At this date the church
seems to have been thoroughly renovated, and all parts of the ex-
terior brought into harmony. The fine embattled tower was then
built, and its west window, with an obtusely pointed head, is a
fair example of this period. The four pointed windows of the bell-
chamber are also good, the two principal lights having cinque-foiled
heads. To the south side, above a small window which gives light
to the belfry, is affixed a plain sun-dial without a motto, and bear-
ing the date of 1770. On each side of the tower, below the em-
battled parapet, are two gurgoyles, which project about a foot from
the wall. They are all of different design, those on the west side
being the best preserved. These respectively represent the head and
shoulders of an ape and of a muzzled bear. Between these two
gurgoyles is a small shield, apparently uncharged.

Rev. Dr. Pegge, writing of this church, says — "Very high on the
west side of the steeple is, paley of 6 over all a bend, so it was
probably erected by the Brailsfords. " This is a curious mistake of
Dr. Pegge's ; the arms that then existed on this shield are not those

WIXGERWORTH. 453

of Brailsford, but of Longford.* Sir Ralph Longford died seized of
a moiety of the manor of Wiugerworth 5 Henry VIII. ; and to him,
therefore, the erection of this tower may probably be attributed, t

The corner stones of the battlements of the tower bear obvious
traces of having formerly supported small pinnacles. These battle-
ments are of considerable height, though unusually thin, and the
action of the wind has so shaken them, that, at the time of our
visit, they could be swayed with a simple motion of the hand.

We may here remark that the embattled parapets are uniform
throughout the church, on the nave, the chancel, and the north
aisle. This part of the building is specially exposed to the action
of the weather and the wear of time, and it is therefore frequently
found to be the newest part of any ancient structure. Looking
down upon the roof of this church, from the summit of the tower,
it is apparent to the practised eye that this has been the case with
the church at Wingerworth. This is very obvious at the eastern
gable of the nave.

In the bell-chamber, built into the south wall, we noticed the cir-
cular head of an incised cross, which has originally formed portion
of a coffin lid. This stone is about a foot square and very much
worn. Its date is quite as early as the oldest part of the church.
The church builders of the Perpendicular period appear to have been
very ruthless in their selection of material, provided it was suited
to their purpose. We are convinced that a more careful inspection
of the inner masonry of our oldest churches, especially of towers,
would result in the discovery of a large number of these interest-
ing memorials, which have hitherto escaped notice.

The details of the interior of this church are not devoid of in-
terest. Prominent among them is the rood-loft. Not only is the
staircase and doorway up to the rood-loft remaining, as is the case
in so many of our ancient churches, but the actual structure upon
which the rood was raised is still preserved. This is of wood, and
projects about two feet from the face of the wall, immediately above
the low archway into the chancel, to which we have already drawn
attention. The front of the woodwork is divided into panels, orna-
mented at the points of intersection with boldly carved roses, four-
leaved flowers, and other devices. From the grooves, that are to be
seen in the upper side of the front joist of the loft, it is evident
that it has been originally protected in front by a railing. From

* The Longford arms are, Paly of six, or and yu., over all a bend, ary.
fThorotou's Xottinyhamts/iire, p. 344.

454 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

this circumstance it would seem probable that this gallery was used
by the minstrels, as well as for the support of the rood and its
accompanying images. The steps from the rood-loft terminate
several feet from the ground, and it is not unlikely that they led,
as was sometimes the case, into the old pulpit. There are very
few instances amongst our parish churches where the rood-loft is
found over the chancel arch ; but from the lowness of the arch it
was in this case a necessity. This loft is of the Perpendicular style,
and was evidently put up at the time when the tower was built,
and when the church underwent so many alterations.

The oak floor of the belfry is ornamented on the under side
with bosses of similar design to the carving on the rood-loft ; but
the space beneath it is unfortunately blocked up by the organ
gallery. The roof of the chancel, when that part of the church
was rebuilt, was handsomely restored, and is divided into square
panels in unison with the other woodwork just described. The
roof of the nave is perfectly flat, being ceiled and white-washed ;
and the general appearance of the interior of the church suffers
much in consequence. Some of the corbel stones, on which the
old roof of the nave was supported, project from the walls about
two feet from the modern ceiling. The roof of the north aisle is
of a plain lean-to description ; and here again are seen two stone
supports of the former roof. This aisle is not much more than
six feet in width. Besides the windows already described, it has
also a two-light window at the east end, which now looks into a
small vestry — a modern addition to the north side of the chancel.
In the upper tracery of this window are some small fragments of
old glass. The design of a crown and a diamond- shaped ornament
are repeated in yellow and white glass.

The font at the west end of the church is of an octagon shape,
and stands upon a pedestal. It is quite out of keeping with the
rest of the church, and it must, from the very greatr similarity of
execution, have been the work of the same chisel which supplied
the neighbouring church of North Winfield with the one now in
use. This one is undated, but that at North Wiufield has inscribed
upon it the year 1660.

In the east wall of the chancel, three feet from the ground, pro-
jects a small bracket. From its shape we are inclined to think
that it is a piscina ; but its situation on the north side of the
altar almost forbids this supposition. It was impossible to decide
whether it was perforated (which would, of course, have settled the

WIS'OKKWORTH. 455

question), as the top has been covered by an oak slab, to serve, we
suppose, for a credence table. Across the top of the east window
is a thick wooden beam, having, in the centre, a curiously carved
Imman face, with leaves proceeding from the corners of the mouth.
This must have, originally, served as the tie-beam at the east end
of a former roof of the chancel. From being painted the colour
of the wall, it, at first sight, seems to be of stone.

On the chancel floor are a large number of blabs to the memory
of the Hunloke family, but they hardly come within the scope or
object of these pages. But there is one monument of interest in
the north-eastern corner of the chancel. This is a stone effigy of
a priest laid on the floor. The figure itself is about six feet in
length. The head rests upon a plain square-cut stone, and a similar
one supports the feet. The priest is dressed in eucharistic vestments ;
the chasuble descends in thick folds nearly to the feet, but below
it appears the alb, which is also visible in the tightly-fitting sleeves,
whilst, the collar of the amice stands out some two inches from the top
of the chasuble, leaving the neck bare. The tonsure on this figure is
one proof of its early date, being a mere fringe of hair, less than an
inch in width, encircling the head above the ears. The face is
much battered. The hands are folded on the breast in the usual
attitude of supplication ; and a chalice is carved below them. The
date of this effigy is about the year 1,200. May it not represent
the priest of this church under whose auspices the chancel was
built in the beginning of the Early English period ?

An old memorandum book of one Arthur Mower, of Barlow, records
a burial in this church of which there is now no trace. His mother
died at Hill Houses, Wingerworth, on the 24th of February, 1574,
" and lyeth in the church in the north alley at the head of the alley
on the north side, and her feet lieth as nigh of the north side of the
gry>se (greece, or step) that goeth up into the Rood-loft as may be."*

An unwarrantable liberty was taken with this church, about the
end of last century, in the annexing to it of a large mausoleum
belonging to the Hunloke family. It is attached to the north side of
the chancel,t and battlements similar to those on the rest of the
church surmount the walls. It has, however, much disfigured the
outline of the church. It is entered on the north side by an iron gate,
through which may be seen the catacombs prepared for the reception

« Add. MSS. 6G71, f. 341.

t The chancel underwent a certain amount of "restoration" at the same time;
had been represented to be in a ruinous condition as long ago as 1693. (Pegge'b
Collections, voL v., p. 183).

456 DEltKYSHIRE CHURCHES.

of the dead. These are arranged in four tiers on each side, every
tier having five compartments. Sixteen of these receptacles are
already filled.

In the churchyard, opposite to the south porch, is the basement
stone of the old cross, having a square socket in the top, for its
reception, about eight inches in depth. The churchyard also contains
some fine yew trees.

The tower contains three bells, one only, however, being in a
condition to be rung. This is a fine old bell, of a particularly sweet
tone, Round the shoulder runs the following legend: "Benedictum
sit nomen I. EL S." Like many old bells it bears no date, but the
bell founder's mark is a crown, over the initials T.E. The inscription
is in Lombardic characters. Its brother bells are in a sad condition,
one of them being cracked in several places right up to the shoulder,
whilst the other has actually lost a fragment from the rim, fully six
inches in length. The story runs, that " many years ago," an idiot
obtained admission to this bell-chamber, and being anxious, of his
own unaided self, to produce music from all three bells at once, took
with him a sledge hammer. Two yielded to his blows, but the
stouter metal of the old bell happily held out until he was removed.
One of these bells is thus inscribed: " Hsec canipana sacra fiat
Trinitate beata, J. B., J. D., C. wardens, 1678, H. V." The third
has the same date and repeats the initials of the churchwardens,
but bears a longer legend : " I H S. Nazaren rex Judeorum fili
deorum Dei miserere." Below this inscription is the name of
"Henry Hunloke, Bart," and a shield bearing the Hunloke arms, Az.y
a fesse between three tigers' heads erased, or, impaling Tyrwhit, gu.,
three tirwhitts (or lapwings), or. Sir Henry Hunloke, the second
Baronet, married Catharine, only daughter and heiress of Francis
Tyrwhit, of Kettleby, by whom he had seven sons and six daughters.
He enjoyed the title sixty-seven years, and was buried at Winger-
worth, January 6th, 1715.*

We must notice also in this bell-chamber, a fourth small bell, about
ten inches in diameter at the mouth. This, perhaps, was the Sanctus
bell, so often mentioned in these pages. It has probably been
moved here, in post-reformation days, from its original position over
the gable at the east end of the nave.

* Ford's History of Chesterfield, p. 333.

pprnbip.

2£55pn5e pf (Jorrigpnbe,

APPENDIX

Page 1, line 6, fur "1087" read "1086."

Page 10, at the end of the first paragraph, add — " The Valor
F.c<-l,-*iaxti<:us (27 Henry VIII.) gives the following particulars rela-
tive to this chantry : —

ALFRETON CANTABIA.

Fundata per antecessores Johanne Fitzwilliam Anne Meeryng et Thome Babyngton.
Dominus Eobertus White Cantarista ibidem habet ut sequitnr annuatim.

£ B. d.

In primis dicta cantaria cum pertinenciis valet per annum - xx

Item cuncta tenementa et terra in Alfreton Carnethwaite et in

parochia de Pynkeston per annum ------ vj iiij viij

Summa

DEDUCTIO.

Cancellatur quia
non debet ex-
onerari.

Cancellatur cau-
sa predicta.

Cancellatur cau-
sa predicta.

Unde resoluta annuatim ex ordiaatione ejusdem
cantarie pro lampade continue coram sacra-
mento ibidem ardente -

Item in obitu Johannis Ormonde et Johanne
uxoris ejus tercio die Octobris annuatim sa-
cerdotibus clericis ibidem -

Item resoluta pro manutentione unius cerei
ardentis coram Beata Maria ibidem pro bene-
factoribus ejusdem cantarie annuatim -

Summa resoluta -

mj vuj

Xll] UIJ

xix iiij

De claro - - vij iiij viij
Decima inde - xiiij v ob'q'

Page 12, line 23, after " Swauwick" add "and to John Toplady."
Page 13, line 3 from the bottom, erase " £1 18s. 9d.," and insert
£6 18s. 8d.. of which the following are the particulars:—

460 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

ALFEETON VICAE.'

Abbas de Bello Capite Patronus ibidem

Dominus Jobauues Davy Vicarius ibidem babet in conimunibus annis ut sequitur

£ s. d.

In primis in mansione cum gleba per annum ----- x viij

Item in oblatiouibus ---------- xviij

Item in decimis vaccarum et vitulorum xl

Item in decimis carbonum -- xviij

Item in pascbali rotulo --------- xl

Item in decimis minutis ut in aucis porcellis ovis pullis lino et pomis xij

Summa - - vi xviij viij

Decima inde - - xiij x ob'

The same returns estimate the value of the rectory of Alfreton,
appropriated to Beauchief Abbey, at £11 10s. Od."

Page 17, at the end of the first paragraph, add — " Kobert, son of
Kalph de Eerersby, confirmed to God and the altar of the Blessed
Mary, in the church of Ashover, for sustaining the service of the
Blessed Virgin in that church of All Saints', ' unius denarii queni
recipere consuevi de Henrico de Knottinge pro omnibus terris et
tenementis, quse idem Henricus de me et de patre meo aliquando
tenuit in soka de Essover.' There is no date to this deed, but the
witnesses' names show it to be of the reign of Edward I. Add.
MSS. 6669, f. 135."

Page 20, line 13, for " Darley " read " Derby." The Abbey of St.
Helen's, Derby, was founded by Earl Ferrers, in the reign of
Stephen. In the succeeding reign, the canons removed to Darley,
where it obtained the name of the Abbey of St. Mary at Darley.
Page 25, line 6 from the bottom, for " paldictus " read " predictus."
Page 28, line 22, for " Orrnund " read " Orniond."
Page 37, after paragraph three, add — " The following particulars
respecting the precise values of the Eectory and Chantry of Ash-
over are taken from the Valor Ecclesiastic us, 27 Henry VIII. : —

ASSHOVEE RECTOEIA.
Thomas Eeresby Patronus ibidem
Leonardus Reresby rector ibidem habet in commumbus annis ut sequitur.

£ B. d.

In primis in mansione et gleba - xxvj viij

Item in paschali rotulo - . - . vj xiij iiij

Item in decimus garbarum ----- vj xiij iiij

APPENDIX. 461

£ s. d.

Item in decimis lane et agnellorum vj xiij iiij

Item pro aucis et porcellis per annum v

Item in canabo et line ----.-.. iij

Item in oblationibus -..- xl

Item in decimis metalli plumbei ------- xx

Summa - - xxiij xiiij viij

Unde resoluta archidiacono Derbie pro scenagio et procuragio xj vij

De claro- - xxiiij iij j

Decima inde - xlviij iijob'q

ASSHEOVRE CANTARIA.

Anthonius Babyngton Miles Patronus.

£ B. d.
Dominus Ricardus Sewdale Cantarista ibidem habet in primis in

mansione viij

Item in terris et tenementis in Asshovre xl

Item in terris et tenementis in "Whittington Ivij ij

Item de abbate de Osney in pecuniis ------ viij

Summa xij xvij x

Unde resoluta Abbati de Bello Capite pro capitali redittu - - viij

Item resoluta Antonio Babington et keredibus suis ex ordinatione iiij
Item resoluta in elemosiua pauperisms indigentibus de Asshovre in

dominicis quadragesimatibus ex ordinatione iij x

Item resoluta in obitu Thorn Babyngtou fundatoris cantarie pre-

dicte doniesticis iudigentibus de Asshovre ex ordinatione - - v x

Item resoluta in die ejusdem obitus sacerdotibus clericis et pro

luminibus ex ordinatione -------- iiij

Item resoluta in die parascenes pauperibus indigentibus ibidem in

elemosina v x

Summa totalis resoluta - - vij xvj vj
De claro- - - v vj iiij
Decima inde - x j ob'q.

The Chantry Koll, from which the descriptions given in the text
are taken, is (as has been explained in the preface) merely an
abstract based on the fuller return made in the 37th year of Henry
VIII. The Commissioners had to fill up their account of the
chantries under eight heads, in answer to as many interrogatories.
These are arranged in the original roll (number 13) in parallel
columns throughout. The interrogatories were as follows : — (1) For
what purpose, when, and by whom founded; (2) the yearly value
according to the " boke of tenthes;" (3) the yearly value as then

462 DERBYSHIRE CHUKCHES.

surveyed, and the resolutions or deductions ; (4) whether a parish
church, or how far distant from one ; (5) whether void or not, and
if there was a mansion or other lodging ; (6) what difference, if
any, in lands or tenements, since the 27th year of the same reign
(when the Valor Ecdesiusticus was taken) ; (7) an inventory of all
plate and ornaments ; (8) whether any chantries had heen dissolved
or sold without the king's license since the 27th year of his reign.

On referring to this roll for the account of Dethick chapel, we
find that there is an error in the condensed roll, hy which 1228 is
given as the date (in the second place that it occurs), instead of 1278 ;
and this error, therefore, modifies several of the statements made
in the text. We still, however, believe that this chapel was origi-
nally erected some years (probably about half a century) before 1278 ;
and that the date given in the rolls is only that of the deed by
which the chantry was endowed out of the possessions of the Prior
of Felley.

The entry from roll 13, No. 62, relative to Dethick, is here given
in full, so that it may be compared with the condensed form in the
text : —

" I. The Chappell of Saynt John Baptyste in Dethike, foimded
by Jeffery Dethick and Thorns, somtyme Por of Felleye, dyd bynde
hymeselffe and the Covent of the same place by writyinge, under
the covent seale, to paye fiyve mrks yereleye owte of ther landes in
Assheovr, towards the fyndynge of prste to saye devyne srvice for
evr, in the chappell of Dethik, for his sowle, his ffriends sowles, and
all Crystyan sowlles, as by the said wrtynge, dated Anno Dm
millimo CCLXXIX. to the Comissionrs shewed dothe appere.

" II. Ixxiiis. mid.

" III. Ixxiiis. iiiid. clere, woh Eevenuex bin imployed to the
lyvynge of Thrustan Palfriman, chaplyn there.

"IV. The sayd chappell is no pisshe churche, butt itt is distaunte
from the pisshe churche of Aissheow1 iii myles, for whyche cause
of distaunce, oon Sr Jeffreye Dethyke, Knyght, there iuhabitinge,
dyd opteyne a lycence of the Bissoppe of Coventrye and Lychefeld
to have devyne srvice and to receyve sacraments of the churche in
the same chappell for hym and his famylye as by suffycyent wryt-
ynge shewed to the Comyssyonrs dothe appere, wch writinge is
dated iiiith die Ffebruarii, A° Dni MCCLXXVIIP.

" V. The same is nott voyde, and the incumbent hathe a lodgynge
therto belongynge, of the yerely valewe of vis. viiiJ., so before
charged,

APPENDIX. 463

"YI. There hathe ben no more louds nor yerelye pfytts be-
longynye to the same sythens the tynie above lymytted more than
is byfore specyfyed.

"VII. There is neyther goods, plate, Jewells, nor ornaments to
the same belongyuge, otherwysse than is borowed of the heyrres of
the said Dethyk, to the knowledge of this said incurubente uppon
his othe.

" VIII. There hathe been no chappells nor other lyke prniocyons
there dyssolved, purchased, or by aiiye other ini-ane opteyned, wth
owght the kyngs lycence sythens the tyrne abovesayd."

The Valor JScclesiasticns, 27 Henry VIII., gives the same total as
to the value of the chantry, at which date " Thurstanus Palffreman"
was also priest. The same returns credit the Priory of Felley with
land in Asshover parish, of the yearly value of £7 13s. Od., from
which sum 66s. 8d. (five marks) was deducted for the chantry
priest "in capella de Theke." The laud from which this payment
was made had only been bestowed upon the Priory a few years
earlier. Geoffrey de Langley, in the year 1268, gave to Ralph,
Prior of Felley, and the canons there serving God, all his lands at
Ashover, viz. : — Peynstonhirst, which he had bought of Simon de
Maii ham, rector of the church of Ashover, and "Williamfeld, which
he had bought of William de Ufton. Stevens' Appendix to Dug-
dale, vol. ii., p. 133.

Ura.

Page 47, line 16, erase " (Lutchurch)."

The earlier Chantry Boll contains no fuller particulars relative to
the chantry of Lea of sufficient importance to warrant its reproduc-
tion, but the following details appear in the Valor Ecclesuuticug, 27

Henry VIII. :—

LEEGH JUXTA DETHEK.

£ 8. d.
Dominus Humffridus Mader canterista ibidem habet decimas cum

terris adjacentibus ibidem que valent per annum - xx

Et in capituli redditibus de terris Alsebrok ibidem - xiij iiij

Et multura molendini ex elemosina domini de Detheke - x

Et de uno tenemento in Bonsall .....-- iij viij

Summa

464 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Page 60. The following are the particulars relative to this rec-
tory from the Valor Ecclesiasticus, 27 Henry VIII. : —

BARLEBURGH RECTORIA.
Radulphus Longford Miles Patronus ibidem.
Dominus Johannes Whyte rector ibidem habet in communibus annis ut sequitur.

£ s. d.

In mansione et glebis - xx

In cotagio eidem pertinents - v

In decimis garbarum et feiii - v

In decimis lane et agnellorum - - - xxxj

In decimis minutis ----- xiiij

In oblationibus xx iiij

In paschali rotulo - xxj

In decimis molendinorum - - - « xvj

Summa - - x
Unde resoluta aunuatim archidiacono Derbie pro scenagio et procuragio

xij viij
xj iij

De Claro - x
Decima inde

xvij
xx j ob' q'

Page 73. Add to the foot note — "A paper also appeared in the
Reliquary, April, 1867, on this Abhey, from the pen of Mr. H.
Kirke. It contains a calendar of the Abbey, giving a list of bene-
factors, taken from Dugdale's MSS. in the Bodleian Library."

Page 78. At the end of the first paragraph add — " Ralph Musard,
Baron of Staveley, who died 14 Henry III., was also buried in
Beauchief Abbey, to which he and his father had been benefactors."

Page 78. The gap four lines from the bottom of the page has
no meaning, the words should read on.

ISctgfjton.

Page 89. The following are the details of the vicarage and chantry
of Beighton, from the Valor Ecclesiasticus, 27 Henry VIII. : —

APPENDIX. 460

BEGHTOX YiCAKIA.

Prior Montis Grade Patrouus ibidem.

Dominus Leonardus Lyuley vicarius ibidem habet commimibus auuis ut sequitur.

£ s. d.
In priuiis mansioue cum gleba et siiib pertiuenciis - xxx

Item in decimis feni xxx

Item in decimis lane et agnellomm --.---- xxxiij iiij

Item in decimis ruiiiutis .-.-..... vj

Item in oblationibus et pascbali rotulo xxxv

Item in decimis niolendini- viij

Summa - - - vij ij iiij

Uiide resoluta archidiacouo Derbie pro sceuagio et procuragio - x vij

De claro vj xj ix

Decima inde - xiij ii q"

BEGHTON CANTAKIA.

Johannes Melton Miles et Georgia* Lynacre Patroni ejusdem.

Dominus Richardus Asshe cantarista £ a. d.

ibidem babet commimibus anuis in mansione cum pertinenciis - xij

Item de certis mesuagiis et terns cum pertinenciis in Beghton in

anuuali redditu -- - vv ii

v vj ij

Decima inde - x vij ob"

Page 98, line 5, for " Edward IV." read " Edward III."
L'uge 93, to uote 1, add " Dugdale's 3/o/>".</ /••<>«, vol. ii., p. 94."
Page 96. The Valor Ecdesiasticus, 27 Henry VIII., gives the
following details respecting this vicarage: —

BLACKWALL VICARIA.
Prior de Thurgreton Patronus.

Domiuus Wilhebmus Ludlam vicarius ibidem habet in conimunibus annis ut sequitiir.

JL B. d.

In mausione ----- v

In augmeutatione de priore de Thurgreton ----- xl

In decimis feni ... vi viij

In decknis agnellorum vij

In decimis lane vj

En oblationibus '--- xij

tn paschali rotulo xij ij ob'

Lu decimis minutis ---------- xj x

In decimis carboiiuni ---- - iij iiij ob*

Summa - v iiij j

Decima iude - x v

2a

466 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Page 100. At the end of the first paragraph, add — At a later date
there was a further change in the endowment of this vicarage, when
the Abhey agreed to aUow the Vicar an augmentation of 26s. 8d. per
annum. The following particulars are taken from the Valor Ecchsias-
ticus, 27 Henry VIII. :—

BELLE SOVRE VIC ARIA.
Abbas de Darley Patronus ibidem.

Dominus Radulphus Smyth vicarius ibidem habet in corumunibus annis ut sequitur.

£ s. d.
In mansione cum clausura -------- vj viij

Item in decimis rninutis- --------- xvj

Item in perpetua pensione de Abbate de Darley ammatim - - xxvj viij

Item in pasckali rotulo --..-.-.- xl

Item in oblationibus ..... ----- xxx

Summa - , - v xix iiij
Decima inde xj xj

The returns of the possessions of Darley Abbey, made at the same
date, place the rectories of Pentrich, Scarcliffe, and Bolsover, under
one heading. Their united value is estimated at £91 Os. 2d. The
Abbey also paid 12d. per year for keeping a lamp burning in the
church of Bolsover " in yeme," i.e., " hyeme," or winter. This seems
to prove that lamps and lights in pre-Eeformation days were not sim-
ply symbolical or ornamental, but intended to be useful in giving
either light or warmth.

Page 104, line 13 from the bottoms/or " N. D." read " H. D."

Brampton.

Page 116, line 6 from the bottom, for " 1547 " read " 1546."
Page 117. At the end of first paragraph add — " The following is
the entry relative to Brarnpton Chantry, from the Valor Ecclesiastscus,

27 Henry VIII. :—

BRAMPTON CANTARIA.
Dominus Decanus Lincolnensis Patrouus.
Dominus Robertas Caskyn Cantarista ibidem habet per annum ut sequitur.

£ s. d.

In primis camerain et unum cotagium per annum - ... vj viij

Item in redditu auuuali soluto per Georgium Comitem Salopie vel
per ejusdem deputatum - vj marcos

-t B. d.

Summa - iiij vj viij

J)cci ma hide - viij viij"

APPENDIX. 407

Page 151. The five Latin stanzas, formerly inscribed on the
pedestal of the kneeling effigy, are copied from the Monmiieiita
Foljamlit-ana in the Reliquary (Xo. 54). The version given by Elias
Ashrnole, who visited this church on the 19th August, 1662, differs in
two particulars ; for " a?gri " in the second stanza read "ffigre," arid
for " senexque " in the fifth stanza read " senexve." It may be as
well to here supply a few more entries from Mr. Ashmole's Chester-
field notes (Ashm. MSS. 854), instead of inserting them in each in-
stance under the page to which they more particularly refer.

The Foljambe-Leake monument was then " on a marble in midst of
the chancell nere the high altar ; " and the Foljambe-Vernon monument
was under an arch next the chancel, in the chapel on the south side of
the altar. The sides of the latter are described as having "men and
women embossed thereon, a man and woman at the head, 6 men and 6
women at the sides, and a man and woman at feete." So that we
may conclude that it could be then viewed all round, and was not
placed in the angle that it now occupies.

In the south aisle were the quartered coats of Beresford and
Hassall (a bear and 3 pheous) " cut in wood on sides of 2 seates
towards ye west end of the church, very ancient."

At the east end of the north aisle of the chancel were several
memorials, every one of which have now disappeared; we believe,
during the alterations of 1842-3. One of these was a brass plate
to Thomas Bretland, who died 25th December, 1648, aged 54. The
brass recorded that he gave by his last will £10 to the Corp.n-a-
tion of Chesterfield, and £10 to the poor. There is no mention of
this chanty in the Commissioners' voluminous report on the Ches-
terfield Charities, in 1827, so that we conclude the principal was
expended. Another brass was to the memory of Alderman Richard
Taylor, who died in 1637, aged 56 ; and there were two other stones
to Alderman Richard Milnes, who died in 1628, and his son William,
who died in 1638. There are various monuments still extant in the
church to the family of Milnes, but none of so early a date as those
mentioned by Mr. Ashrnole.

Page 152, line 4 from the bottom, for "Dayuile" redd "Dayvile."

Page 153, line 16, for " Plautaganet " read Plautageuet"

Page 153, line 23, for " maschy " read " mascly."

468 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Page 156, lines 22 to 25. Erase the sentence commencing " The
celebrated," down to "in 1336." This passage contains a careless
blunder in confusing the two Anthony Becks, and it is the more inex-
cusable as we have elsewhere commented on a similar error made by
Lysons. It is, however, a curious fact that not only should there have
been two Anthony Becks of the same family, who were bishops within
so short a space of time, but that they should also each have had
brothers of the name of Thomas who were likewise bishops. Anthony
Beck, the celebrated Bishop of Durham, died in 1311, and his brother
Thomas, Bishop of St. David's in 1293. Of these two bishops there
is an account under Pleasley Church.

The second Anthony Beck was prebend of Lincoln in 1312, chan-
cellor in 1316, and elected dean of the same diocese in 1329. In
1336 he was appointed Bishop of Norwich. He died on the 18th
December, 1343, and was buried in his cathedral. He had been pre-
viously appointed to the bishopric of Lincoln (1320), but his election
was subsequently nullified by the Pope.

The second Thomas Beck, a canon of Lincoln, was appointed to the
Bishopric of Lincoln in 1340. He held the see for seven years. See
Stubbs' Registrant Sacrum Anglird/iuin. and Hardy's Fasti Ecdexice

Page 157, line 16, for " 4 Henry " read " 4 Henry VII."
Page 158, 10 lines from the bottom, insert " III. Thomas, rector of
North Winfield." He was the third son of Ralph Fitzherbert ; see
the account of North Winfield Church.

Page 169. A id at the end of the first paragraph, this note. "The
actual words of this charter leave it doubtful whether the supper was
to be held within or without the church. At first we thought the
former supposition so unlikely that it could not be the case ; but on
looking further into the matter, we find it was no unusual thing to
hold not only the parochial ' church ales ' and ' clerk ales ' in the
church, but also the funeral banquets of private individuals. Even
so late as the last years of Henry VIII. this custom had not died ;
for, in Strype's edition of Stowe's Surrey of LonJun, we read that
'•Margaret Atkinson, widow, by her will, October 18th, 1544. orders
that the next Sunday after her burial there be provided two
gammons of bacon, three shoulders of mutton, and two couples of
rabbits, desiring all the parish, as weD rich a<s poor, to take part
thereof, and a fable t» be set in the mi Jut of thf church, with everything
necessarv thereto."

APPENDIX. 469

(Tcmplt liormautou,

Page 183, line 6 from the bottom. After "divorcement of Kathe-
rine," add — " The Valor E'rlesiaxticm, taken in the 27th year of Henry
VIII., estimates the property of the Kiiights Hospitallers, on the
manor of Normanton and lands pertaining, at the annual value of
£15 4s. 4d."

Page 193, line 2 from the bottom, for " Edward II." read " Henry
II." Mr. Mitchell makes the mistake of giving the date and place
of the confirmation charter of Henry II. to Edward II., who in re-
coufirmatioii quotes in full the charter of his predecessor. The actual
words of Henry II. relative to Clown are — " Donatiouem etiam, con-
cessionein, et confirmationern quas Kobertus de Mennill, nlius Gilberti
del Menuill, et Eobertus filius ejus feceruut prsefatis Cauonicis de
Ecclesia omnium sanctorum de Cluna, et de toto jure suo, quod in
eadem Ecclesia halmerunt, in purarn liberam et perpetuam elemosi-
uam, etc. etc. confirmanius." Dugdale's Monasticon, vol. ii., p. 56.

•Dronffrllr.

Page 206, Hne 1 of footnote, for " Holmersfield " read " Holmes-
field."

Page 212, line 5, after "87 Henry VIII.," add this note— " The
chantry roll taken 37 Henry VIII. is the original one, upon which
is based the more condensed form quoted on the previous page."

Page 225, line 17, after "of his household" add the following —
" But the rectory of Eckington had been apparently divided into two,
or at all events held at the same time by two priests, at a much

470 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

earlier date ; for Ralph and John, ' Persona; de Ekinton,' were both
of them witnesses to a charter of Ralph Musard's of the reign of
Henry III, Nichols' Collectanea, vol. iv., p. 16."

Page 227. To second foot note add — " Sir Peter Frecheville, by
his will, dated 16th March, 1632, left his lands at Ecldngtou (inter
alia) to his son John. Harl. MSS. 7602."

Page 228, line 22, for " John " read " Joseph."

Page 235 To first foot note add — " Dugdale's Monasticon, vol. ii.,
p. 92."

Page 237. At the end of first paragraph, add-—-" The Valor Ecdesi-
asticus further credits the priory of Thurgarton with 66s. 8d., as the
annual value of the rectory of Elraton."

Page 241, second foot note. We have here thought it well to re-
produce two of these Inquisitions, together with the preceding royal
writs, as specimens of the documents that we have so freely con-
sulted, and from which we have so frequently quoted throughout
these pages. They are given verbatim, with all the contractions,
precisely as they appear in the original documents at the Public
Record Office.

INQUISITION 2nd EDWAED 3 (2nd n?s) N°. 115.
(WHIT.)

EBWAEDUS Dei gra Rex Angl Dns Hibn t Dux Aquif dilco sibi Simonj de Grimuesby
Escaetori suo cita Trentam saltm Mandam' vob qd p sacrm pbor' & leg hoim de ballia
vra p quos rei veritas melius sciri pot'it diligent inquiratis si sit ad dampuu vel p'jud
. . . . aut alior' si concedam' Rog'o le Sauuage qd ipe de manerio suo de Steynesby
cu ptin quod de nob tenetr. in capite vt elicit1 feoffare possit Galfridu de Langholt
capellanu h'end t tenend sibi & heredibs suis de nob & heredibs nris p s'uicia inde
debita & consueta inppetuu t eidem Galfrido qd ipe hita inde plena & pacifica seisina
refeoffare possit p'dcm Rog'una & Isabellam vxem eius de man'iop'dco cu ptin hend t
tenend eisdm Rog'o & Isabelle & heredibs de corporibs ipor' Rog'i & Isabelle exeuntibs
de nob t heredibs nris p s'uicia p'dca imppetuu Ita qd si p'dci Rog'us & Isabella

APPENDIX. 471

obierint sine herede de corpore suo exeunti tuc man'iu p'dcm cu ptin remaneat rectis
heredibs ipius Eog'i tenend de nob t heredibs nris p s'uicia p'dca inppetuu nee ne Et
si sit ad dampnu vel p'iudiciu nrm aut alior1 tune ad quod dampnu & quod p'iudiciu
nrm & ad quod dampnu & quod p'iudiciu alior' & quor' & qualit & quo modo et si
p'dcm man'iu tenef de nobis in capite vt p'dcm est an de alio et si de nob tune p quod
B'uiciu t qualit & quo modo et si de alio tune de quo vel de quibs^ & p quod s'uiciu &
qualit & quo modo et qntu p'dcm man'iu valeat p annu in ouiibs exitibs iuxta veru
valore eiusdem et si que t're seu ten eidern Rog'o remaneant vlta. man'iu p'dcm tune
que t're & que ten t vbi t de quo vel de quibs teneant1 vtru videlicit de nob an de alio
et si de nob tune p quod s'uiciu t qualit' & quo modo et si de alio tune de quo vel de
quibs & p quod s'uiciu & qualit t quo modo & qntu valeant' p annu in ouiibs exitibs
Et inquisicoem inde distincte & apte fcam uobis sub sigillo vro & sigillis eor' p quos
fca fu'it sine dilone mittatis & hoc bre — T me ipo apud Eley xxvj. die Jauuar anno
r. n. scdo.

(INQUISITION.)

INQS capt apd Cestrfeld cora Simone de Grymesby Escaetore Dni Reg cit Trentam die
Sabb px. p'. fm Pur be Mar anno r. ~R. E. tr cij p'. conqst scdo scdm tenore brTs Dni
R. huic Inquis consul p scmet Robti le Sauvage del Heeth Henr le Harp de Oulcotes
Willi Beii'eg de Sntton Ade de Pleseleye de eadm Robti le Deyce de eadm Henr filii
Albred del Heetb Robti "Wyburgh Henr fil Robti, Robti de Braylisford iunioris Robti
de Calale Robti fil AloFet Robti de Braylisford senioris jur 2'. dicut p sacmetum suu
qd no e ad dampnu nc. p'iudm Dni R aut alior' si idm Dns Rex cocedat Rog'o le
Saauuage qd ipe de Mau'o sno de Steynesby cu ptin quod de Dno R. tenetr in capit
feoffaf possit Galtr de Langholt capelm hud t tened s1 & hed snis de DiTo R. t bed
suis p s'uic inde debit t cosuet ippem et eidm Galfro qd ipe hita inde plena & pacifica
seisTa refeofar possit p'dcm Rog & Isabella vx eius de Man'io p'dco cu ptin hnd t tened
eisdm Rog'o & Isabelle t hed de corpibs ipor' Rog5! & Isabell exeunt ne Dno R. & hed
BUIB p s'uic inde debit & cosuet inppet Ita qd si p'dci Rog's t Is. obierint sn hed^de
corpe suo exeunt tuc man'u p'dcm cu ptin remaneat rectis hed ipi* Rog'i tenend de
Duo R. & hed suis p s'uic pdca inppef. Itm dicut qd man'iu p'dcm tenetr de Dno R.
in capit p s'uic reddend p annu vnu espuar soru ad Seem Dni R. ad fm Sci Michis p oi
s'uicio et valet p annu in oibs exit iux veru valore eiusdm Xu Dicut t qd man'ium de
Geinschelf in Com Essex remanet eidm Rog'o vltra man'iu p'dcm quod tenefde Willo
de Brewes p s'uic vni». feod mllft t valet p annu in oibs exiiXXn. In cui' rei test p'dci
iur sigifi sua appos.

INQUISITION 8tb RIC. 2. N°. 44.
(WRIT.)

RICARDUS Dei gra Rex Angl & Franc & Dns Hibn dilco sibi Thome Staunton
Escaetori suo in Com Derb saltm p'recipim' tibi qd p sacrmj)bor' & leghoim deballiua
tua p quos rei v'itas melius sciri pot'it diligent inquiras si sit ad dampnu vel p'iudiciu
linn aut alior' si concedam' lohi Sauage seniori qd ipe de man'io suo de Stanesby qd
de nob tenetr in capite vt dicitr feofare possit Johem Morsell Capelanu hend t tenend
sibi & hered suis de nob & heredibs nris p s'uicia inde debita & consneta imppetuu et
eidem Johi Morsell qd ipe hita inde plena & pacifica seisina dare possit & concedere
p'dcm man'iu~cu^ptiu p'fato Johi Sauage & Margareti vx'i eius hend & tenend eisdem
Johi Sauage & Margareto & heredibs quos idem Johes Sauage de corpore ipius Mar.
garete p'creau'it de nob & heredibs nris p s'uicia p'dca imppm Ita qd si eadera Mar-

472 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

gareta sine herede de eorpore suo p p'fatu Jobem Sauage pcreato obierit tune p'dcm
ruau'iu cu ptiri heredfbs de eorpore ipius Johis Sauage exeuntibs remaoieat Tenend de
nob & heredibs nris p s'uicia p'dca imppetuu Et si idem Johes Sauage sine herede de
eorpore suo exeunte obierit tune p'dcm inan'iu cu ptin Robto Sauage juniori & heredibs
de eorpore suo exeuntibs remaueat tenend de noT> & hered nris p s'uicia p'dca imppm
Et si idem Robtus sine herede de eorpore suo exeunte obierit tune idem maii'iu cu
ptin rectis-heredibs ipius Johis Sauage remaneat imppetuu tenend de nob & hered nris
p s'uicia p'dca imppm nee ne et si sit ad dampnu vel, p'iuliciu nrm aut alior' tune ad
quod dampnum & qd p'iudiciu nrm & ad qd dampnu & qd p'iudiciu alior' & quox t
qualit & quomodo et si inan'iu p'dcm teneat1 de nob in capite ut p'dcm est an de alio
et si de nob tune p qd s'uiciu & qualit & quo modo & qntum inan'iu p'dcm valeat p
annu in omibs exit iuxta veru valorem einsdm et si que t're seu ten eidem Johi Sauage
remaneant vlfrra mau'iu p'dcm tune que t're & ten & vbi & de quo vel de quibs teneanf
vtru videlt de nob an de alio et si de nob tune p quod s'uiciu it qualit & quo modo &
quantu vaT p annu in omibs exit iuxta veru valore eor'dem Et inquisicoem inde
distincte & apte fcam nob sub sigillo too & sigilla eox quos fca fu'it sine dilone mittas
hoc bre J. me ipo apud Westm XX die Octobr anno r. n. octavo.

(INQUISITION.)

INQUIS' capt apud Chestrefeld coram Thoma de Staunton Esc Dni Eegis in Com
Derb die Lune sexto die Novembr anno regni Regis Rici *cdi post conquestu octauo
virtute bris Dni Regis eidm Esc direct & huic Inquis consut p sacrm Johis Fraunceys
de Hertestofte Willi Fraunceys de eadm Benedict! Tailor de ead Johis de Hanley de
eadm Johis fil Henr del Heth Wifli Tnur de Oulcotes Simonis "Webster del Heth
Ad de Hanley de eadm Johis de Sutton de eadm Rici Nal de Esfrwaye Radi Wake
del Heth & Rici Emson de Norththorp Qui dicunt s sacrm suu qd no est ad dampnu
nee p'iudiciu Dni Regis nee alior' Dnor' licet Rex concedat Johi Sauage seniori qd
ipe de Manerio suo do Steynesby cum ptin feofare possit Johem Morsell captm Hend
t tenend sibi & her suis de nob t heredibs nris p s'uicia inde debita & consueta
imppetuu et eidm Johi Morsell qd ipe hita inde plena t paciflca seisina dar possit t
concedere p'dcm man'iu cu ptin p'fato Johi Sauage t M'garete vx'i eius hend t tenend
eisdm Johi Sauage t M'garete t hered quos idm Johes Sauage de eorpore ipis M'garete
pcreau'it de nob & heredibs_nris p s'uic p'dca imppetuu Ita qd si eadm M'gareta sine
herede de eorpore suo p p'fatu Johem Sauage pcreato obierit tuc p'dcm maneriu cu
ptin heredibs de eorpore ipius Johis Sauage exeuntibs remaneat Tenend de nob t
hered nris p s'uic p'dca imppetuu Et si idm Johes Sauage sine herede de eorpore suo
exeunt obierit tuc p'dcm man'iu cu ptiiT Robto Sauage Robto Sauage Juniori & hered
de eorpore suo exeuutibs remaneat Tend de nob & hered nris p s'uicia p'dca imppetuu
Et si idm Robts sine hered de eorpore suo exeunt obierit tuc idm maneriu cu ptin
rectis hered ipius Johis Sauage remaneat imppetuu Tend de nob & hered iiris p
s'uicia p'dca imppetuu Et dicunt qd maneriu p'dcm cu ptin tenet1 de Dno Rege in
capite p s'uiciu cluor' solid t p vno esperuar soro Et dicunt qd p'dcm maneriu valet
p annu in omibs exit iuxta veru valore euisdm Centu & sexdecim solid & decem
denar Et dicunt qd nulla tre seu tenta eidm Johi Sauage remanent in Com p'dc"o vlt»
maneriu p'dcm.
DaFloco die & anno supdcis.

It will be seen from these two Inquisitions, that the manor of
Stainsby was held of the king by the service of an "espervarius
sorus," or sore hawk, i.e., a hawk of the first year, to be rendered
to the Treasury every Michaelmas day.

APPENDIX. 473

Page 249. The Valor Ecdesiastieus, under the property pertaining
to the priory of Newstead, estimates the rectory or church of Hault
Hucknall, " cum <-n\>fUa <le Rou-tkorne," at the full yearly value of £8.
From this was deducted a pension of 30s. to the Prior of Croxton,
which, together with the arcliidiacoual dues, reduced the total to £6
2s. Od. We have not succeeded in finding any other allusion to
this chapel of Rowthorne. The manor of Bowthorne had been con-
veyed to the Priory of Xewstead, as early as the reign of Henry III.
by Robert de Lexington ; but common-sense interpretation of this
entry in the Valnr K"<-l<'xi>intinis certainly points to an actual chapel
011 the manor, and not merely to the possession of its tithes. Yet it
is strange that there does not now appear to be even a tradition of
its former existence.

Page 253. Add, as a note to the first sentence — " Dugdale's
Monasticon , vol. ii., p. 604."

Page 256, line 12 from the bottom. After "its precincts" add —
" A junior branch of the Savages was also resident in this parish in
the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries."

Page 267, at the bottom of the page, add — " It also appears from
the Valor Eeclesiasticus that the annual pension of 13s. 4d. from the
rectory of Langwith was still retained by the priory of Thurgarton."
p 268, lines 10 and 18, for " Psitterton " read " Palterton."

liorton.

Page 295. " The Abbott and Convent of Dcrbye" mentioned in the
second paragraph, is a mistake in the Chantry Roll for Darky, to
which place the Abbey of St. Helen's of Derby, was moved in the
reign of Henry II.

474 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Page 321, line 2, for " Paltreton " read "Palterton."
Page 324. Add to the end of the second paragraph — " The land
held in the parish of Scarcliffe of Newstead priory was valued, in
Henry VIII. 's reign, at £15 3s. 7d. per annum ; from which 3s. 4d.
was deducted as a pension to the Abbot of Darley."

Page 326, line 3 from the bottom, add, after the word " Darley "
— "In addition to this augmentation, the Valor Ecclesiasticus men-
tions that the abbey provided 12d. a year 'pro stramento ecclie
Skarclif in hyeme,' i. e., they furnished straw (or something strewn)
for the pavement of the church of Scarcliff during the winter
months. The same returns estimate the annual value of the three
rectories of Scarcliffe, Pentrich, and Bolsover in a single sum —
£91 Os 2d."

Page 337. We here give a verbatim copy of the fuller chantry
roll, taken 37 Henry VIII., so far as it relates to Shirland (Roll 13,
No. 68), from which that given in the text was subsequently abbre-
viated. See the Appendix, under Dethick Chapelry.

I. — The Chaimtrye of Shyrland so named in the Kynges Recordes of his tenthes
nevertheles Xpofer Haslam Chaplyn there vppoii his othe saythe that itt is neyther
Chaunfye hospytall colledge ffree Chappell hrotherhed nor Stypendarie to his know-
ledge Also oon Robte Revell sheweth vuto us the Comyssyon's an olde wrytynge or
Wyll of Thorns Revell of Hyghm Dated the ijdo of Apriell Anno Dni mlmo cccclxxiiij
in the whyche he hequethed C. marks for the byenge of certeyn lands to he imployed
for a prists wags to synge and save masse ppetuallye for his sowle his frendes sowllea
and all Crystyan sowlls and further shewed an other will in papyr of oon Rohrte
Revell dated the xijth of Maye Anno Dni millimo iiij°. iiij"xv. in the whyche the
sayde Robrte Revell willed the issues and pfytts of all his londs in Thawtwayte and
in the hill to fynde a p'ste to synge in the Churche of Shyrland by the space of
iiijxlxix yeres And if a mortesmayne mought be gotten within the tyme then to con-
tynewe for euer or ells to be solde.

II.— viijS iiij".

III. — iiiju clere p* in Redye moneye to the sayd incumbente by Robrt Revell And
as he saythe he payethe viij8 for his tenthes And that oon "Willm Rowhbothom som-
tyme pryste there vppon a wrongge s'uice cawsed the same to be charged wth tenthes
w* sayd iiijO is imployed to the lyvinge of the sayd Chaplyn.

IV. — The same is no pisshe Churche butt is served wth in the pisshe Churche of
Shyrland.

APPENDIX. 475

V.— The same is nott voyde neyther hathe the incumbente anye maucyon butt a
chambre w011 he hathe by thappoyntment of Robrte Eevell.

VI. — There hathe ben no more londs nor yerelye pfytts belongyiige to the same
sythens the tyme above lymytted more then is byfore specyfyed.

VII. — There is neyther chalis Jewells Plate ornaments goods or cattails apperteyn-
ynge to the same butt he occupieth oou chalys and ij vestments to saye Masse W*
the Incumbent deposythe vppon his othe to be Mr. Revells.

VIII. — There hathe ben no Chuntryes nor other lyke pmocyons there dyssolued
purchased or by anye other meane opteyned wth owght the Kyngs lycence sythens
the tyme above sayd.

The following is the entry relative to this Chantry or Donative,
in the Valor Ecclesiasticus, 27 Henry VIII. : —

SHIRLAND DONATIVA.

Tristramus Revell Patronus ibidem.

Dominus Willielmus Rowbothom Dominus Johannes Feeld Capellani ibidem habent
conjunctim ut sequitur.

£ B. d.

In primis in Thwatwaite - ------- iij viij j

Item in Eggnescawe ---.-..... iiij ij vij

Item in Shirlande ---------- xiij iiij

Summa - - viij iiij
Decima inde - xvj iiij ob' q'

Stafcrleg.

Page 362. The summary of the property of the Knights Hos-
pitallers, in the Valor E--fl':*ia><ticus, estimates that portion of the
manor of Staveley, and the mediety of the rectory, which were held by
them, at a yearly value of £11.

Strctlcg,

Page 402. Since our account of Steetley passed through the
press, service has been once more held within its waUs. We take
the following from the Derbyshire Times, 23rd October, 1875 :—

"At Steetley Chapel, on Sunday, there occurred an event of great interest to anti-
quarians and archaeologists. Divine service, according to the rites of the Church of
England, was held within the ruined building for the first time after a lapse of up-
wards of three hundred years. A few days ago a notice was issued by the Rev. G. E.
Mason, rector of WhitweU, announcing that there would be a special service in the
afternoon, with an address, to be followed by a public meeting, ' to consider how to
provide means of worship and religious instruction for the immediate neighbour-
hood.' The ' immediate neighbourhood ' comprises Steetley and Darfoulds, at wnict

476 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

latter place a population was fast springing up, consequent upon the near completion
of the Steetley Colliery by the Shireoaks Colliery Company. At the time appointed
the old roofless piece of Norman architecture was unlocked, and its span was at once
filled by persons from Whit-well, Worksop, Shireoaks, Darfoulds, and Harness Grove.
The proceedings began by the Rev. G. E. Mason and his curate (the Rev. E. Town-
end) taking their station just within the apse of the church, and putting on their
ceremonial robes. The ordinary morning prayers, psalms, and lessons were then
read and sung, with suitable hymns, after which Mr. Mason addressed those assembled
in a very earnest manner, in which he said that he believed the time was come when
divine worship would regularly take place within those walls. He did not think it
strange that he should be there that day, though many of them might think so. The
building had been consecrated, and once set apart for worship, and it would always
remain sound to its purpose. It was three hundred and fifty years since it was left
to fall into decay, and however much it had been desecrated it was still God's house,
and he was able to say that it was the general desire that the building should be again
used for God's worship. At the close of the service the public meeting was opened,
and Mr. Mason stated the reasons why they were met that day. He had often been
asked, since he came to Whitwell, when steps would be taken to restore Steetley
Chapel. He had written to Mr. Gladstone, one of the Duke of Newcastle's trustees,
about it, and Mr. Gladstone was quite willing that the work should be done, and the
trustees would give ±'50 towards it. Mr. Pearson, clerk of the works, had made
certain plans and an estimate, which were now in Mr. Gladstone's possession. He
had further written to the lion, gentleman, asking permission to use the chapel as it
then was, and he had received consent to do so. Certain repairs could be done in a
very simple manner for £50, which would consist in putting on a wooden roof, cover-
ed with a tarpaulin, as a temporary affair, which would keep out the wet. Every one
seemed willing that this should be done, and on Mr. Mason's asking if any one could
suggest anything, Mr. Charles Tylden- Wright stepped forward, and addressed the
meeting to the effect that he quite concurred with what Mr. Mason had said, and in
what he was trying to accomplish. As a co-director in the Shireoaks Colliery Com-
pany, he would do what he could do in the matter. Mr. Mason said a good plan
would be to have a memorial signed \ty the families in the neighbourhood, requesting
that a restoration of the chapel should take place. The bishop of the diocese was
deeply interested in the matter, but before any steps were taken in the direction of a
memorial, he would consult with Mr. Wright. Amongst some resolutions which
were put to the meeting by Mr. Wright, were the following : — ' That in consideration
of the distance which separates Darfould and the neighbouring towns from any place
of worship, it is desirable to provide some place where the people may come to
hear the Word of God, and to pray.' ' That in the opinion of this meeting, Steetley
Chapel is the most convenient place for such a purpose, and therefore it is desirable
that it should be restored as soon as possible, thus preserving from destruction a
valuable monument of the sacred art of a bygone age ; at the same time it is not well
that it should be restored so long as it remains private property, and therefore the
trustees of his Grace the Duke of Newcastle should be urged to place it for sale, or
otherwise under the Bishop of the Diocese, and then money be collected, with a view
to an immediate restoration.' These were both carried without any dissent. Steps
will at once be taken to cover in, as before stated, the building, when it is hoped that
regular services will be held. A vote of thanks to Mr. Mason, proposed by Mr.
Wright, closed the meeting."

It will thus be seen that the restoration of the fabric has already
commenced. Under the hand of Mr. Pearson, A.E.A., there can
be no fear but that the work will be carefully and satisfactorily
accomplished. It is scarcely necessary to add, that at the time we
penned the sentence relative to the restoration, we had no know-
ledge of his engagement in this task, and we are glad that the
appendix gives us an opportunity of apologising, both to Mr Pear-
son and to the rector of Whitwell, for the construction of a sentence
which might otherwise appear offensive.

APPENDIX. 477

Page 421. Add to paragraph 2 — " The elder branch of the
Savages also held certain lands near Park Hall, in this parish and
Morton, which came to them from the Deincourt family through
the Leakes. It is probable that the Savage coats of arms, on the
exterior of the south aisle, point to the restoration of that part of
the church, by one of the Sir John Savages, and not by the founder
of the chantry."

Page 443, line 15 from the bottom, for " Belle w" read "Belers."
Page 445, line 2 from the bottom, for "Jollan'1 read " Johan."
Page 446, in the note, for " Ferney " read "Ferrey."

lossfipg.

A GLOSSARY OF SOME OF THE TECHNICAL
TERMS USED IX THE FOREGOING PAGES.

APSE.— The semi-circular termination to the east end of the choir or aisles of a church .

ALMERY. — A niche or small cupboard by the side of an altar, to contain the

-ds. — See foot note, p. 86.
BALL FLOWEU.— Aii ornament consisting of a round hollow flower of three petals,

enclosing a bull. It is usually characteristic of the Decorated style, but it

sometimes occurs at the end of the Early English style, as on the tower at

Eckingtou.
BEAK-HEAD. — A. characteristic Norman decoration, in which a head, worked in an

outer moulding, winds a beak round the moulding next within.

BEYIL. — The slope formed by paving of the angle of a wall, or other piece of masonry
or timber. It is almost synonymous with a chamfer.

BILLET. — A Norman decoration, consisting of a round projecting moulding, interrupted

at regular intervals, so as to resemble short billets or pieces of stick.
CHAMFER. — See Bevil.

CHEVRON. — A Norman decoration, consisting of a series of zigzag indentations or
mouldings. It is sometimes found in the transition period, from Norman to
Early English . The term is derived from heraldry. — See the illustration of
the west doorway of Whitwell.

CLERESTORY. — That part of a church with aisles, which rises on the nave arches over
the aisle roofs.

CORBEL. — A stone projecting from a wall to support some weight, as an image, a shaft,
or a group of vaulting shafts. It nearly corresponds to bracket. Corbels are
carved in u jm'iit variety of ways ; the form of a head is frequently given to
them in each of the styles, from Norman to late Perpendicular.

CORBEL-TABLE. — A row of corbels supporting a parapet or cornice.

CREDENCE-TABLE. — The small table at the side of the altar, on which the bread and
wine were placed before consecration. This was nn early custom, but in many
instances the place of the credence-table was supplied by a shelf across the
niche containing the piscina.

CROCKETS. — Projecting ornaments, usually leaves or brandies of foliage, i;
relieve the angles of spires, pinnacles, canopies, and in other places.

2i

482 DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

CUSPS. — The projecting points forming the featherings or foliations ingothic tracery,

arches, panels, &c.
DRIPSTONE.— See Hood Mould.

ENGAGED.— A member, which ordinarily stands free, is said to be engaged when it is
attached to a wall, or otherwise partially loses its full projection in the sur-
rounding members. Thus a shaft is engaged when only half or three-quarters
of it appear ; and a tower is engaged when the aisles are carried to its extreme
west end.

FILLET. — A narrow flat face or band, used chiefly between mouldings to separate them
from each other, though it is often worked upon larger mouldings or shafts.

FINIAL. — The termination of a pinnacle, spire, or canopy, usually consisting of a

bunch of foliage.

GEOIN. — The angle formed by an intersection of vaults.
GURGOYLE. — Projecting water spouts, usually carved into grotesque figures.

HAGIOSCOPE. — A contrivance, whether by perforating a wall, or by cutting away an
angle of it, by which an altar may be seen from some part of a church, from
which it would otherwise be hid. It is also termed a Squint.

HOOD-MOULD. — The projecting moulding which crowns doors, windows, and other
arches. When used on the exterior it is usually termed Dripstone.

JAMBS. — The perpendicular sides of a window or door.

JAMB-SHAFT. — A shaft set in the retiring angle of a jamb to bear the arch of the

window or door-head.
LANCET. — The usual name for the ordinary Early English window, which is long and

narrow, and pointed at the top. In late and fine specimens the head is usually

acutely pointed, in smaller and early windows it is almost always very obtusely

pointed.
KING-POST. — The middle post of a roof, standing on the tie-beam and reaching up to

the ridge. Where there are two vertical posts standing on the tie-beam they

are termed Queen-posta.
MULLIONS. — The upright divisions separating large windows into two or more lights.

OGEE. — The term ogee is applied to a pointed arch, the sides of which are each
formed of two contrasted curves. The ogee arch came in with the Decorated
style, and was frequently used in canopies and small doorways. See the illus-
tration of the north doorway of Ashover.

PILASTER. — See Respond.

PISCINA. — A water drain placed within a niche, usually on the south side of an altar,
and used to receive the water in which the priest washed his hands, as well as
that with which the chalice was rinsed at the time of the celebration of the mass.

PURLINS. — The horizontal pieces of timber which rest on the principals or main
rafters of a roof, and support the common rafters.

REREDOS. — The wall or screen at the back of an altar.

RESPOND. — A half pillar or pilaster attached to a wall to support one side of an arch.

SANCTUS BELL. — A small bell used in the Roman Catholic service of the mass to call
attention to the more solemn parts, as at the introductory words " Sanctus,
Sanctus, Sanctus, Deus Sabaoth," whence the name is taken. It was usually
placed in a bell-cote on the east gable of the nave. The illustration of Shirlaud
church affords a singular instance of a double bell-cote in this position.

GLOSSARY. 483

SEDILIA. — Scats near an altar, generally in the south wall of the chancel, for the
officiating priests ; they are usually three in number, as at Dronfield, but
vary from one to five.

SET-OFF. — The part of a wall or buttress which is exposed horizontally when the
portion above it is reduced in thickness.

SPANDRELS. — The triangular spaces between the arch of a doorway, etc., and the
square label or hood-mould over it. Spandrels are almost exclusively confined
to the Perpendicular style.

SPLAY. — The expansion given to doorways, windows, and other openings, by slanting
the sides. This construction especially prevailed on the insides of the small
windows of the Norman and Early English periods.

SQUINT.— See Hagioscope.

STILTED ARCH. — An arch which has the capitals, or impost mouldings, of the jambs
below the level of the springing of the curve of the arch.

STOUP — A vessel to contain consecrated water, into which all who entered the church
dipped their fingers and crossed themselves. In this country a small niche
with a stone basin was usually formed in the wall near the entrance, but the
receptacles for holy water were occasionally movable vessels of stone, and one
of these in the church at Bolsover.

STRINGCOURSE.— Any continuous projecting moulding, running horizontally.

STRUTS. — Struts, or braces, are those timbers of a roof which proceed diagonally from
the base of the King or Queen-post to the principal rafters.

TIE-BEAJIS. — The large timbers of a roof, which rest horizontally on the wall-plates;
thus tying the walls together.

TOOTH ORNAMENT. — A name given to a decoration extensively used in the Early
English style, though occasionally met with in late Norman or transition work.
It consists of a square four-leaved flower, the centre of which projects in a
point. See the illustration of Norton font, and also of the blocked-up window
at the east end of the north aisle of North Wingfield.

TRANSOM. — A horizontal mullion or cross bar, in a window or in panelling.

TYMPANUM. — The space immediately above the opening of a doorway, when the top of
the opening is square, but has an arch over it. This space is often filled up in
Norman work with a single stone profusely ornamented or quaintly sculptured.

WEATHER-MOULD. — The projecting stones on a surface against which a roof is placed
to secure the junction from wet. This often remains on the towers of churches,
or on the east end of the nave, indicating the former existence of a roof on the
nave or chancel of different pitch from the present.

Inbirts*

Inbpf of ]Pprsons.
Jn5pf of

INDEX OF PERSONS.

. — Where two or more names of the same family occur on one page
they are for the most part entered under the head of "family." 21ms
on page 68, Robert, James, Peter, and Denis Barley are mentioned,
but the reference in the index is simply " Barley, family, 68."

A.

Abitot, 63, 65
Alan, Master, 99
Albinos, Abbot of Darley,

74

Alderson, C., 264
Aleyn, Robert, 295, 299
Alfreton. arms, 42, 59, 79,

88 ; family, 283 ; Thomas

de, 12, 298
Alkoe, Robert, 338
Allan, Thomas, 341
Allestree, arms, 41
Alveley, Robert de, 47
Annesley, family, 41
Arnold, Edward, 360
Ashbnry, John, 375

lole, Church notes,
J. 353, 467
in, arms, 139; Sir

Thomas, 140, 146
Aston, William, 211
Audsley, Henry. 177
Austin, arms, 293; family,

294
Av.net, arms, 39C; Robert,

99
Aylesbury, arms, 32, 298;

family, 11, 31

B.

Babington, arms, 158, 353;
family. -25-:: 1. 41- iti. 298;
Sir Anthony. 11, 12, 461;
Elizabeth, "299 ; Ethel-
drena, 55; Henry, 12;
John, 353, 354, 41>.
Robert, 158 ; Thomas, 12,
20, 407, 418, 459; William,
54, 93, 283, 284, 303

Bada. 291

Bagge, Sir William. 13

Bagott, arms, 159
Bagshaw, family, 297 ;

Richard. 236
Bakewell, John, 354
Ball, Thomas, 113, 114
Baline, John, 162
Bamford, Thurstan, 239
Banford, S., 37
Baunaster, arms, 287
Barker, Francis, 298; Ralph

210; Sir Robert, 211
Barley, arms, 66, 67, 407;
family, 67, 68, 205, 209,
409; Sir George, 209;
Robert, 65, 165; William,
165

Barlow, Arthur, 148 ;
Henry, 104 ; Robert de, 63
Barry, family, 34
Barton, William, 275, 421
Bassano, Franc-is I.YISS ),
9,2-2,33-35, 40,57,59,66,
68, 88, 95, 103, 114, '11 7,
258,

262, 264, 270, 287,
298, 315, 316, 3'24, 349,
350, 352, 354, 35"), 358,
359, 363, 369, 397, 408,
443

,-ldine, Charles, 196
t, arms, 298 ; family,
81, 33, 298; Ralph, 11,

Sir Richard, 378
Bassingbourue family, 31
Baylli, Serlo, 65
Bean, Henr
Beardall family, 339;

William. 275
Beauchamp, arms, 151
Beaufey, John, 358
Beaumont, John, 29
Beayse. Mr., 313
Beckering, arms, 407 ; Sir
John, 409

Beck, arms, 153, 279, 280

Anthony, 156, 279, 312

4G8;Ernulfde,311; John,

312 ; Thomas,311,312,468;

Walter, 312
Becket, Thomas a 73, 74,

79

Bee. Joseph, 136
Belers, Roger de, 383, 443
Benefeld, arms, 45
Bennett, Thomas, 177
Berbi, Robert, 236
Beresford, arms, 368, 369

467; family,369; Richard,

422

Berisfort, Jane, 68
Beruerd, Bishop, 311
Bertram, Robert, 354
Bingham, arms, 154, 156,

353, 430 ; Richard, 25
Birchett, family, 294
Bisset, family, 31
Black wall, John, 212;

Wednesley, 4 1
Blackwell, Ralph, 25
Blythe, family, 293-296 ;

John, 174
Bockingham, arms, 154,

156

Boiler, Thomas, 429
Bollowe, John, 283
Bonaparte, 37
Bonsall, Sir R., 163
Booley, John, 317
Bossley, G., 136, 187, 195
Bostock, family. "247
Bosville, arms, 353 ;

William, 354
Boswell, Godfrey, 246
Botetourt, arms, 334; John,

335

Bothe, arms, Henry, 158
Bourne, Immanuel, 17, 37;

Rev. John, 174
Bower, Francis, 236

488

DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Bowet, Sir Nicholas, 34
Bowler, Eev. Francis, 60
Boythorpe, family, 406
Bradbourne, arms, 158,279;

Henry, 26; John, 158,

299
Bradshaw, Anthony, 179,

180 ; Edward, 186
Brailsford, family, 433, 449,

451,452; Sir Henry, 201 ,

202,211; Roger, 206,210
Brampton, family, 112
Braucequill, Roger, 210
Breilsford, John, 429
Brendon, Bishop of Ardfert

109
Breton, arms, 400 ; family,

114, 140, 146, 176, 188,

406, 407

Bretland, Thomas, 467
Brett, John, 11, 31
Brettland, Thomas, 173
Briggs, John, 236
Bright, J., 214
Brito. Richard, 74
Briton, Gley de, 400
Briwere, William, 142, 154,

177, 406

Brocklehurst, J., 60
Brome, Richard, 228 ;

Robert, 216

Bromhead, Thomas, 363
Bromley, Lord Chancellor,

246 ; Samuel, 133, 144
Brown, Adam de, 169 ; Mr.,

68
Browne, Anthony, 179, 180 ;

John, 186
Bryan, arms, 334, 396 ; Guy

de, 335 ; Rev. Guy, 285
Buck, The Brothers, 76
Bullock, family, 68, 209;

John, 296 ; William, 76
Burton, Michael, 216
Busli, Roger de, 3, 241, 291
Bussey, arms, 156; family,

31, 139, 417, 419; John,

156, 274 ; Sir Miles, 140
Butcher, Robert, 237
Butler, Archdeacon, 94
Byron, arms, 420 ; family,

421

C.

Caball, W. de, 169
Cachehors, arms, 353
Caltofte, John, 11, 31, 298
Calton, family, 152
Camville, arms, 396
Cartledge, Robert, 213
Caskyn, Robert, 466
Caus, family, 112, 113 ;

Matilda 1«, 116, 426
Cause, Robert, 166
Cavendish, arms, 103 ;

family, 347 ; Sir Charles,

104 ; Sir William, 296
Chandos, arms, 154, 156
Charge, John, 174
Chaworth, amis, 45, 88,

154, 166, 206 ; family, 9,

11, 12, 14, 31, 298, 406;

George, 29 ; Robert, 79 ;

Thomas, 41
Chedel, Robert, 246
Chester, Earls of, 100
Chesterfield, Richard de,

161,162,168; Roger, 168
Clare de, arms, 207
Clarke, family,_114
Clay, Captain, 376; Thomas,

422

Clayton, Richard, 318
Clifford, arms, 352 ; family,

354, 363 ; John, Lord,

346 ; Henry, 362 ; Walter

Lord, 306

Codgrave, Robert, 237
Cocks, William, 212
Cokayne arms, 158; family,

67 ; Thomas, 158
Coke, D'Ewes, 283; D.,

285

Colton, arms, John, 158
ColumbeU, family, 280 ;

Roger, 185
Colville, arms, 153, 156 ;

family, 140
Comberford, arms,

Thomas, 158
Constable, arms,43 ; family,

52, 55, 56

Constautia, Lady, 323, 324
Conyers, Sir John, 226
Cook, William, 210
Cooke, arms, 59 ; James,

60 ; John, 421
Copley, arms, Elizabeth,

396

Cornwall, 200, 379
Cornwallis, Bishop, 277
Cotes, J., 9 ; Peter, 441
Coughlaud, Richard, 213
Coupe, John, 3'23
Courtenay, family, 334
Crich, Cornelius, 410 ;

Ralph, 410 ; Roger, 407,

409 ; William, 410
Croft, Anthony, 216
Cromwell, arms, 440, 445 ;

Idonea, 346 ; John, 346 ;

Oliver, 79, 103, 280 ;

Ralph, Lord, 416, 439,

445, 446

Cropper, George, 237
Culchath, Otwell, 65
Culpepper, arms, 396
Cumberland, George, Earl

of, 172
Curzon, family, 449, 450 ;

John, 165

D.

Dakeyue, family, 36

Daniel, arms, 158

Daniers, family, 246, 247

Darcy, arms, 227, 353 ;
family, 83, 225-8; John,
354 ; Roger, 224, 228

Davy, John, 460

Dayville, John, 152, 171

Deaue, Mr., 237

Deincourt, arms, 17, 153,

159, 206, 273, 277, 351;

family, 415—434, 477 ;

Francis, 375 ; John, 354 ;

Ralph, 235, 237, 267 ;

Walter,23o,273; William,

235
Delves, family, 55, 56 ;

Sir Henry, 67
Denham, Thomas, 11
Derby, Eaii of, 52
Dethick, arms, 34, 353, 407 ;

family, 38 - 48, 409 ;

Geoffrey, 406, 462 ; Isa-
bella, 29 ; Robert, 26, 29
Devonshire, William, Earl

of, 245

Dewes, J., 195
Dixon, Rev. Fletcher, 350,

360, 361

Dobb, John, 429
Dobbs, George, 285
Dovecote, Philip de, 261
Dowcett, Richard, 88
Dowker, Peter, 170, 429 ;

Thomas, 137
Dowman, family, 339
Draper, Hugo, 166, 167
Dunham, Sir John, 140,

148
Durant, family, 161, 162,

166, 168

Durvasal, arms, 396
Dynham, family, 298

E.

Eaton, George, 37
Edwards, Richard, 296
Elie, Robert, 169
Engaiue, Baron, 31
Eugayne, John, 11
Essex, Earl of, 36
Eyre, arms, 114, 154, 339,

407 ; family, 339, 409 ;

Anthony, 177 ; Diana,

209 ; Edward, 230 ;

Gervaise, 177 ; Philip, 23 ;

Robert, 22, 23, 172, 329 ;

Roger, 75, 165

F.

Fairfax, Mr., 238
Fanshawe, arms, 205 ;

family, 203-205, 209-211
Farneham, Robert, 229
Faucouberg, arms, 59 ;

William de, 52
Feeld, John, 475
Feme, John, 315, 316 ;

Mary, 318
Ferrers, arms, 33, 42, 43,

45, 158 ; family, 47, 449 ;

John, 28, 32; Robert,

Earl of, 17, 171, 253,

321, 460; Thomas, 159 ;

William, 100, 104
Fitz Herbert, arms.42,L"4,

158 ; family, 27, 158, 419 ;

Ralph, 391, 468 ; Thomas,

421

INDEX OF PERSONS.

489

Fitz Hubert.Ralph, 51 , 2'21,

321, 527, 378
Fitz Langley, arms, 153
Fitz Peter, Geoffrey, 378,

379
Fitz Ealph, arras, 357 ;

Hubert, 321, 324
Fitz Ranulph, Robert, 3,

31, 73, 74, 77, 93, -291
Fitz Stephen, Ralph, 437
Fitz William, family, 148,

149; John, 459
Fitz Urse, Reginald, 74
Fletcher, Thomas, 137, 138
Flint. Richard, 360
Flynt, Oliver, 168
Foljambe, arms, 114, 226,

368, 369, 370, 408; family,

79 ; Chesterfield Church

fassim, 406, 408 ; James,
72,419; John, 371, 372 ;
Henry, 227, 369, 407 ;
Godfrey, 117, 118, 8fl9,
371, 372; Mrs., 68;
Thomas, 283, 407

Folvile, Sir Roger, 194

Foolow, Mr., 274

Forester, Adam, 210
•!, Henry de, 162

Foulkes, Thomas, li 5

Fra uuci'is( Fraiiceis Fraun-
cis), family, 64-66

Frecheville/arms, 114, 226,
353, 397 ; family, 47, 59,
324,34-1-:: .',362,

363, 392, 398, 399 ; Anker,
324, 339, 345 ; John, 55,
216, 253, 370 ; Sir Peter,
59, 165,217,470; Ralph,
63, b21

Freke, Roger, 328

Frewe, Roger, 325

Frith, family, 406

Fredlaye, Laurence de, 283

Furnival,arms,334 ; family,
57, 58 ; Thomas de, 78

G.

Gardiner, Dr., 230 ; Wil-
liam, 230

Garntt, Mr., 361

Gell, Philip, 235 ; Ralph,
417

Gibson, Mr., 351

Gilbert, Thomas, 299

Gill, George, 296 ; Leonard,
297 ; Philip, 297

Gisborne, Francis, 360,
361

Glauville, Ranulph <!<•. :>/'.!

Glapwell, Richard. 88

Glossop, Francis, 363

Godeva, 295

Gomfrey, Richard, 206 ;
Thomas, '206, 210

Goualstou, W. de, 384

Goody, J., 195

Gosling, Ralph, 46

Gotham, arms, 35, 159 ;
family, 34, 297

Goushill,arms,226 ; family,
51, 52. 54, 5(5, 227, 261,
354, 392
Gren, Christopher, 229,

230

Greenhaugh, Roger, 29
Greenwood, arms, 349
Grey, arms, 206, 334, 35:5,
371; family, 283, 331,
333-336, 347, 371 ; Baron,
31, 32; Isabella, 354;
Richard, 374 ; Robert,
324. 416; Thomas, 226;
U illiam, 354, 374
Griffith, John, 236; Mr.,

232
Grinmesby, Simon de, 470,

471

Guy, of Warwick, 137
Gweut, Richard, 417, 421

H.

Hackenthorpe, family, 88
Hacker, family, 316; John,

318

Hackett, Bishop, 213
Hall, Rev. G., 129; Richard,

2<>5. 354; William, 326,
Halley, George, 197
Hallowe.s, family, 41, 103 ;

Chaworth. 236
Halton, J. M., 60
Hancock, Robert, 212
Hansard, Gilbert, 152
Harcourt, family, 312
Hardinge, Michael, 183
Hard wick, family, 246. 25::.

866
Harestou, Peter de, 371 ;

Robert de, 367, 371
Harpur, Sir John, 339 ;

Richard, 39
Harrington, Eleanor, 185 ;

Sir James, 150
Harrison, James, 300;

Samuel, 422
Harvey, John, 132, 400
Haslam. Christoper, 211,

474 ; Thomas, 13, 216
Hassall, arms, 368, 369, 467 ;

Robert, 369
Hastings, arms, 227 ;

Bryan, 370
Hathersage, family, 54,

261; Matthew, 51, 121,

122

Hatton, John, 442
Hawks, Sir Robert, 211
Hawson, John, 186
Haywood, Hugo, 168
Heald, W., 386
Heath, Henry, 317
Heathcote, Gilbert, 170;

Godfrey, 27, 135, 170;

Ralph, 214, 277,326; W.,

163, 168
Hedderley, Daniel, 248,

429 ; Thomas, 13, 37
Heperstall, Bryui
Herbert, arms, 246, 217
Heriz, family. 31, 33, 383,

437. 43,s. 415

Her.m, Emiline de, 228;

Walter de, 225
Herstock, John, 154
Herrysou, Nicholas, 313
Hewitt, John, 362; Wil-
liam, 263

Hiberuia, John de, 346
Hill, Archdeacon,

John, 256; Richard.
Hillary, arms, 371 ; family,

367; Robert, 374; Wil-
liam, 371

Hilton, Thomas, 170
Hinchman, Thomas, 277
Hobbes, Thomas, 2 1 1
Hobson, Joseph, 111, 217
Hodkiu, David, 95
Holland, family, 155 ; Earl

of Kent, 152; William,

17", 429
Holies, Gt L 355,

357, 359; Sir William,

BB, 261

Hopton, family, 315
Horbury, W. de. Hlf,
Home, family, 2b9 ; '

iielius, 8

Hortou, John de, 359
Howard, George, 175
Huddleston, Miles, 284
Hudson, John, 180
Hunloke, Sir Henry, 449,

456 ; Nicholas, 44'J
Hunter's MSS., 146, 173,

180, 197, 222, 223, 230,

255, 315

Hyde, Robert, 230
Hyle, Richard, 442

I.

Ingham, William, 212
Ingram, family, 3, 137, 291 ;

Hugh, 116, 117
Inkersell, family, 339
Inskip, William, 194, 196,

197
Ireland, Avice, 79

J.

Jebb, Joshua, 176
Jeffrey, John, 324
Jessoppe, William, 88, 89
Jewell, Bishop, 203, 336

K.

Kendall, Ann, 441
Keunett, Bishop, 230
Keyes, Thomas, 254
Keynes, family, 31, 32
Kighley, Henry, 215
Killinghall, George, 230
Kiuuersley, Clement.
Kiuwaldmarsh, W. .,
Kirkby, Thomas, 226
Kniveton, arms, 1 ; Henrv,

159

Knotting, H.nry do. 460
Kiiowles, Thomas, 17

490

DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

L.

Lancaster, Heriry of, 207
Langham, Robert, 283
Laugholt, Geoffrey de,

241, 470

Langton, Walter de, 384
Lascelles, Bryan, 339
Laurence, John, 360, 411
Leake, Nicholas, 273
Leas, de la, family, 47, 65
Leche, ai-ms, 43 ; Francis,

246 ; George, 29, 33
Leech, Sir E., 117, 450
Leeke, arms, 139, 353, 420 ;
family. 184, 312, 367-372,
375, 376 ; Sir John, 147,
354, 420; Sir Francis,
327, 346, 362, 385; Sir
Simon, 147 ; Thomas,
246

Legh, Roger de, 156, 161
Leigh, arms, 154, 287;
Bryan, 284 ; Robert, 284
Leversage, Agnes, 418, 421 ;
Lexington, Robert de, 473 ;

William de, 117
Lillyman, John, 422
Linacre, family, 228 ; quire,
88 ; George, 230, 465 ;
Hugo, 65, 117, 122 ; Mr.,
68

Lindley, Samuel, 341
Lister, arms, 158, 159 ;

Richard, 158

Littleton, Bishop, 402 ;
Constantia, 150 ; Ed-
ward, 148

Lodebroke, arms, 408
Loft, John del, 169
Longford, arms, 43, 153,
156, 158, 453 ; family, 51,
54, 55, 56, 225, 227, 267,
280, 283, 303, 392, 417,
419, 453, 464
Longstaff, William, 161
Lonsdale, Bishop. 237
Loudham, arms, 139, 153,
156 ; family, 176, 405, 409
Lovell, Francis lord, 21 5
Lowe, W. de, 166, 169
Lowes, Francis, 148
Ludlam, William, 96, 465
Ludnam, William, 338
Lyatt, Anthony, 429
Lynley, Leonard, 465

M.

Mader, Humphrey, 463
Maiuwaring, William, 299
Manderville, family, 32
Manham, Simon de, 463
Manners, Sir John, 339,

391 ; Sir Roger, 396
Mansfield, John, 163
Manvers, Thomas, 247
Markham, arms, 43
Marsden, 12, 170
Marshall, arms, 158; John,

27, 419
Mary Queen of Scots, 41

Maskew, Bridget, 179 ;

James, 179
Mason, George, 362
Maw, Phiueas, 60
Mears (Bell-founders), 170,
237, 285, 306, 361, 387,
429

Meerynge, Anne, 459
Meinell, Robert de, 51
Mellor, Richard, 276
Mellour, Richard, 104, 340
Melton, John, 465
Mennil, Gilbert de, 469,

194 ; Robert, 392, 469
Herring, William, 11
Meverell, George, 229
Meynell, arms, 227; family,
41, 392 394; Cicely, 261;
Hugh, 228; Nicholas, 228
Millwood, Richard, 429
Milnes, family, 467
Milton, John, 244
Mollynes, arms, 153
Mompesson, Mr , 218
Monboucher, arms, 353,

357 ; family, 354, 358
Monsell, John, 241
Montacute, Francis Vis-
count, 179

Montague, Earl of Salis-
bury, 408

Montfort, arms, 109; Peter
de, 109 ; Simon, 116, 159,
324

Montgomery, Baron, 331
Moorcock, Henry, 147
Morcare, 51, 83, 193, 378,

391

More, John, 29
Morewood, Anthony, 8, 12
Morteyne, arms, 407
Mortymer, arms, 154 ;

family, 155

Morville, Hugh de, 74
Mower, Arthur, 68, 1 18, 455 ;
George, 69 ; Richard, 216
Munniugs, John, 133
Musard, arms, 59, 88, 357 ;
family, 346, 362, 392 ;
Amicia, 358 ; Ascuit, 63,
261, 345 ; Nicholas, 358,
363 ; Ralph, 464, 470
Musters, John de, 226
Mylner, John, 213

N.

Nevile, arms, 139, 153;

family, 57 ; Isabel!, 59 ;

Thomas, 140, 148
Nevill, F., 60
Neville, John de, 445
Newbold, Henry de, 65 ;

Sir Richard, 163, 168
Newton, arms, 67 ; family,

224

Nickspn, Edward, 274
Nightingale, Mr., 48
Norman ville, arms, 35, 159 ;

family, 35, 36
Novant, Hugo de, 379

O.

Offley, Joseph, 299

Okeover, family, 280 ;
Philip, 29, 33

Oldfield, George, 36, 104,
170, 248, 285, 429 ; Henry,
95, J95,214, 248; John, 8

Orele, William, 226

Orreby, John de, 207

Ormoud, family, 9 ; Eliza-
beth, 81, 33; Joan, 11;
John, 11, 28,298,299,459

Orston, Helen, Thomas,
418

Outram, Edmund, 215 ;
Richard, 216

P.

Pabenham, Lawrence, 11,

31

Padley, Joan, 23
Page, Richard, 13
Paifriman, Thurstan, 38,

462 463

Pallis'on, Richard, 247, 248
Parker, John, 297, 298;

Thomas, 297

Parsons, Robert, 429; Wil-
liam, 386, 429
Paveley, arms, 431
Payne, John, 341
Peace, Thomas, 326
Pearse, John, William, 327
Peckham, John, 311
Pegge, family, 78; Edward,

75, 76

Pegge, Dr. Samuel (MSS.),
53, 55, 59, 60, 73, 74, 105,
109, 115, 117, 121, 122,
123, 14')— 148, 151, 157,
161, 162, 170, 173, 176,
179, 197, 209, 212, 214,
215, 217, 242, 252, 273,
2^4, 327, 335, 336, 349,
352, 363, 385, 405, 407-
410, 415, 430, 433, 450
Pembrugge, arms, 396
Peiidletou, Jane, 275
Percy, Joan de, 207
Peverel, William, 99, 100,
102, 283, 303, 383, 406,
437

Philpot, arms, 227
Pierpoint, George, 43, 89
Pierrepont, Francis, Sir

Henry, 372

Pilkington, Sir John, 346
Pinant, Sir John, 363
Piukiuson, Sir Hugh, 306
Pipe, family, 39, 60, 392,
396 ; Humphrey, 52 ;
Richard, 52, 57
Plautagenet, arms, 153, 161
Plesley, Serlo de, 311
Poer, Ralph le, 283
Poictou, Roger de, 241, 367
Pole, arms, 158 ; family, 41,
51, 407; John, 158; Fran-
cis, 59 ; Margaret, 56 ;
Mary, 56

INDEX OF PERSONS.

491

Poste, Peter. 2-1
Powell, Matthew, 422
Poyniugs, arms, 334, 335 ;

family, 335

Poyntou, Thomas, 100
Prykke, Robert, 31
Pryme, Abraham de la, 402
Pypys, John. 14:-:, itjj

E.

Eagg. William, 168
Rauulph, Earl of Chester,

99

Redfearne, Jane, 374
Kedfiu, Abraham, 36
Keresby, arms, 3.5, 15 1, 159 ;
family, 34, 35, 36," 460;
Adam, 17, 159; John, 23 ;
Margaret, 17; Thomas.
17, 34

Beve, Richard, 444 ; Thom-
as, 363

Revel, family, 336—339,
474, 475; Edward.
George, 283; Hugh. 14,
280; Robert, 286; Thom-
as, 418; William, 3^6
s, Leonia de, 378
Reynolds, J. (MSB.), 6, 7,
48, IM. (I*1,. 11.-,. 151, ]60,
204, 207, 350, 352, 357,
358, 41' i, 41-2
Rhoades, Ralph, 304
Rhodes, W. Hatfield de,

237

Richardson, John, 236
Riddel, family, 33
Ridge, Jaiie, 28
Roberts, Robert, 237
Robinson, Thomas, 100
Rodes, family, 52, 59, 60 ;
Gilbert, 56; Judge, 58;
Francis, 237

Rolleston, arms, 43 ; family,
25, 33, 34, 47 ; Francis,
25; James, 370; John,
23,24; George, 26; Ro-
bert, 29

Rood, Brian, 34
Roodcs, C'lni-topher, 304
Roos, arms, 83o; family,

311

Rooth, Henry, 129
Rosamund, Fair, 306
Rotherham, William, 230
Rothery, Peter, 36(>
Roughbotham, Thomas, 47
Rowbotham, William, 398,

474, 47.'.

Rowlandson, John, 393
Rutland, John, Earl of, 393
Rychcr, Thomas, 210
Rydell, Maud, Richard,

298

Rye, arms, 395, 396 ; family,
391, 392, 395, 396

S.

Sacheverell, arms, 45, 89 ;

Henry, 45
Sales, T., 132

Salisbury, Richard, Earl

of, 155. 100, 175
Salman, W. S.,337
Sampson, Archbishop, 811;

Robert, 351, 352
Sandeford. Bryan, 392
Savage, arms

424; family. 241.

247, 256, 36!)-371, 418-421;

424, 470, 471, 477; Sir

John, 215
Savile, George, 341
Scarsdale, Nicholas, Earl

of, 12. 115, 31-2, 376
Schnobbelie, Jacob, 405,

406
Selioke, family, f>2, 297

I!. Richard, 461
Shaw, George, 170, 429
Shawe, Oliver, 115
Sheffield, family, 283
Sh.-plry, J., 132
Slierebroke, Thomas, 385
Sherley, family, 54
Shirley, Archdeacon, 237;

family 4 111
Shrewsbury, Elizabeth,

Countess of, i>46, 372;
1 of, 57, 58, 117, 184,
313

Sikes, Robert, 216
Simpson, John, 235
Sitwell, family. 224
Slegge. Edward, 385
Smeeton, Robert de, 399
Smith, J. &• E., 37
Smythe, Ralph, 466
Suape, Robert, 274
Solney, family, 54, 284 ; Sir

Alured, 283
Somersall, family, 117
Somerset, arms, 246 ; John,

Earl of, 155
Sothill, Henry, 55
Spencer, Hugh de, 324;

Major, 297
Spott, Wulfric, 5, 61, 83,

221. 273, 291, 303, 367,

37S, 391

Spray, William, 408
Stafford, arms, 42 ; family,

8, 157, 283 ; Sir Thomas,

54

Stanhope, family, 52
Stanley, family, 52; Katha-
rine, 421; Mr., 217
Starkey, B., 398
Stephenson, James, 60
Stevenson, Edward, 339 ;

John, 236; Mr., 68;

Thomas, 236, 429
St. John, Lord, 358
Stock, Joseph, 341
Stockpole, arms, 396
Stokes, H. de, 241
Strangeways, arms, 237 ;

Sir James, 83, 226, 229
Strelley, family, 78, 440;

Sir Nicholas, 75, 209,

254

Stringfellow, William, 230
Stuffyn, family, 816, 318;

John, 3.15

Stuteville, family, 378 ;
John de. :>•! ; Henry de,

Styrley, Sir Ai'tlionv, 79
Swift, Ge<> bert,

34, 84; William, 21, 84,

,4, 430, 431, 433
Swilliugton, arms, 226;

Robert de, 227.
Swyverton, Robert, 421

T.

Taillo, William, 283
Talbot, anus, 334 ; Earl of

Shrewsbury, 331 ;

Thomas, Lord, 335
Talleme, Francis, 385
Tanner, Bishop. 7 1
Tateshall, arms, 440 ;

Robert de, 443
Taylor, John, 214, 387;
hard, 467 ; Thomas,

375
Tempest. arms, 353 ;

Richard, 354 ; Thomas,

353, 354

Terwhit, Troth ea. 149
Thomaco, William de, 121
Thornhill, Henry, 312
Thorpe, William ^ 318
Tiptoft, John de, 155
Topham, Anthony, 421
Toplady, John, 4/v.i
Toplis, John, 443 ; Mary,

440

Torald, Adam, 283
Touchet, arms, 153, 835
Towneley, family, 140
Townend, Robert, 375
Townsed, W , 216

. William de, 74
Trafford, Sir Edward, 159
Tricket, Mr., 296
Trigg, Henry, 168
Trottou, James, 268
Tue, Thomas, 419
Turbntt, Gladwin, 280 ;

Richard, 278
Turner, John, 12, 13;

George, 12 ; Thomas, 13*J
Turville, family, 33; Agnes,

25 ; John, 25

Tweutiman, John, 386, 387
Tynker, John, 87
Tyrswell, John, 378
Tyrwhit, Francis, 456

U.

Ufegeat, 291
Ufton, William de, 463
Ugathorpe, William, 41
Ulkathorpe, Peter de, 438
Unwin, Robert, 217

V.

Vavasour, family, 399 ;

Robert le, 400
Verdon, John, 143, 162

492

DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Vernon, arms, 114, 396 ;
family, 421 ; Beuedicta,
140 ; George Venables,
235; John, 25; Sir Ralph,
•247

Vincent, family, 67

W.

Waddington, Rev.

Matthew, 116, 450
Wake, arms, 153, 161;

family, 406 ; Baldwin,

142, 152, 154, 171, 177;

Hugh, 177 ; Margaret,

142, 154

Wakefield, Thomas, 357
Wakks, William, 419
Walker, T., 69
Walkinton, arms, 241
Walton, family, 45 ; Hugh,

121 ; William, 189
Ward, family, 228
Warren, Earl of Surrey,

207

Wass, Ralph, 422
Waterhouse, family, 396
Waterton, arms, 368 ;

Robert, 369

WaterviUe, William de, 31
Webster, Paul, 169, 170
Woldon, Baron of, 298
Wentworth, family, 392,

399 ; Richard, 279

Wenwright, Ralph, 421
Werburgh, St., 94
Weseham, Roger de, 109
West, Sir William, 177
Whalley, Richard, 391
Wheatcroft, Leonard, 19
Whit, Sir Robert, 45
White, Isabella, 373 ;

Robert, 10, 459
Whittington, arms, 154
Whitwell, family, 398
Whitworth, Sir Myles, 45 ;

Sir R., 163
Whyte, John, 464
Wigfall, family, 224 ;

Henry, 230
Wilde, Nicholas, 267
Wildebore, P., 170
Wilkesonne, George, 195
Wilkinson, James, 380 ;

Thomas, 416

Williamson, William, 195
Willoughby, arms, 207,

279; family, 277, 279,

280, 311, 312, 430
Wilmot, Eardley, 284, 285 ;

Robert, 286 ; Sir R., 278
Wilson, John, 418; Mar-
garet, 137 ; Thomas, 249
Winfield, family, 33, 34
Wingfield, Anthony, 51 ;

Richard, 246
Wirkson, Edmund, 275
Witherington, family, 333
Withers, H., 170

Wolfeudale, John, 411
Wolley, MSS., passim
Wolstenholme, James, 216
Wood, John, 170
Woodhouse, family, 102 ;

Robert de, 346
Woodstock, Edmund of,

142

Woodville, arms, 244
Woodward, John, 151
Worsley, William, 162
Wortley, arms, 355 ;

Francis, 87 ; Matilda,

356

Wrenne, Thomas, 385
Wright, John, 264 ;

Thomas, 235
Wyne, le, family, 283
Wyngerworth, Roger de,

38,47
Wyrley, William, MSS.,

45, 79, 89, 152, 160, 226,

298, 420, 432
Wyverton, Sir Richard, 378

Y.

York, Richard, Duke of,
155

Z.

Zouch, arms, 298 ; family,
32, 298 ; John, 12.

IXDKX OF PLACES.

A.

Acre, 37'.)

Adlington, 281, 287
Agincourt, '2(i
Alfreton, 3-14, 31, 43, 60,

73, 74, 79, 291, 385, 459,

460

Allestree, 65
Alsebrok, 463
Alvaston, 399
Aquila, 43
Ardfert, 109
Ashbourne, 67, 156, 158,

279, 370

Ashford, 21, :><)2
Asbover, 17-48, 159, 1(12,

299, 410, 449, 460, 401
Ashton, 227
Astwith, 241
Attercliff, 297

B.

Babington Housi . U
Bakewell, 4, 198, 210, 314
Barlborough, 14, 61-60, 83,

22-2, 225, 316, 354, 391,

3<J2, 396, 464
Barley, •_'( >:,
Barlow, 63-69, 118, 209, 217,

455

Barrow, 183
Barton, 300
Basing, 358
Baslow, 13, 60
Bateley,^268
Beauchamp, 73
Beauchief Abbey, 3, 12, 31,

7:5-80, 178, 201, 202, 210-

213, 241, 291, 295, 299,

362, 460, 464
Beaumont, 73
Beaurepaire (Belper), 73
Beeley, 170, 333
Beighton, 83-89, 221, 464,

465

Belph, 394
Belvoir, 393
Beresford, 369
Bingbam, 353
Birchett, 297
Blackwell, 93-96, 385, 465
Bobenhill, 339
Bole Hill, >-)

Bolsover, 99-105, 213, 325,

466

Bonsall, 13, 60, 463
Bosworth, 383-385
Boulogne, 247, 421
Boythorpe. 121, 154, 178
Brackeufield, 297
Bradbourne, 26, 354
Bradley, 159, 449
Brad way, 209
Urailsford, 201, 449
Bramptoii, 109—118, 178,

2-2K, 409, 415, 426, 449, 466
Braytbwell, 67
rm udsall, 41, 291
Bridgeford. ilii
Brimingtou, 121, 150, 154,

1.-.7, 176, 177, 178, 316,

339, 357
Burton, 147
Burton Abbey, 3, 51, 83,

193, 221. 273, 291, 303,

367, 378, 391

C.

Caerleon, 311
Calton, 152
Carcolston, 430
Carlingthwaite, 283, 337
Cartledge, 216
Catfoss. 52, 55
CausbaU, 112
Cawthorne, 264
Chaddesden, 275
Cbatsworth, 29, 152, 246
Cbedel, 246
Chellaston, 269, 34'!
Chebnorton, 263
Cbesterfield, 36, 59, 109,

115-117, 121—189, 195,

•jnl. 237, 316, 352, 369,

399, 406, 467, 468
Chevet, 354
Cbilwell. 55, 283, 303
Clay Lane, l\r,
Clifton, 246, 42i >
Clown, 51, 83, 193-198, 237,

469

Cockstye, 324
Codnor, 12, 333, 335, 371
Colley, 147, 210
Comberford, 158
Cosgrave, 430

Cowdray, 179

i'l, ITS, 237
Crich, 47, 128, 162, '204, 227,

345, 358, 414

Croxton, 20!l, 2)3, 254. 17:5
Cuttborpe, 1 1.1

D.

Dalby, 43

Darfield, 74, 361, 3U-2

Darley Abbey, 74, 99, 100,

105, 299, 321, 3'22, :-52i>,

827, 338, 437, i:;s 411.

445, 460, 406, 473, 474
Darley Dale 110
Darley Hall, 185
Deiiby, 60, 357
Derby, 41, 4'2, 55, 68, 15),

253, 254,381,460
Derby, Convent of, 295
Detbick, 26, 38-46, 158,

461-463
Dol, 311
Doncaster, 83
Dorcbester. 347
Dore, 79, 211, 218, 375
Drayton, 31
Dronfield, 60, 111, 2ol -

218, 275, 336, 354, 449,

469
Dronfield Woodhouse, 68,

20.3, 210
Dublin, 312
Duckmauton, 83, 178, '22.r«,

374, 378-380, 385
Duddiugton, 67
Duffleld, 171, 361
Dunmoor Heatb, 137
Dunston, 156

B.

East Ham, 400

Eastwood Old Hall, 34
-ball, 384

Eckingtou, 51, 60, 83. 89,
121, 161, 178, 1«
221—231. 202. 354. 3'.f2,
•}<;'.». 470

Ecle, 43

Edensor, 33

!t.m. 3, 73, 291

494

DERBYSHIRE CHURCHES.

Egston. 137, 338

Elmton. 56, 235-237, 267,

415, 470
Eresby, -213
Etwall, Io8, 380
Eyam, 218

F.

Fanshawe Gate, 205, 209
Felley, 38, 383, 462, 463
Fenny Beutley, 160, 370
Fliutham, 430
Ford, 415
Foremark, 65
Freshmarsh, 55

G.

Gainsborough, 137
Gerendon, 253
Glapwell, 103, 105, 253
Gotham, 367
Grafton, 42
Greeiihill, 12

H.

Hackenthorpe, 88

Haddon, 114

Halifax, 396

Halla-m, West, 180

Hamlacke, 393

Hampstall, 158

Hanley, 415

Hardstaff, 241

Hardwick, 246, 256

Harriugworth, 293

Hartington, 113

Haselbarrow, 297

Hassell, 370

Hassop, 209

Hault Hucknall, 29, lOi,
141-249, 253, 255, 258,
370, 385, 420, 470-472

Heage, 41

Heanor, 331

Heath, 241, 253-258, 473

Henmore, 415

Hickling, 28

Higharn, 337, 339

Hilton, 228, 311

Hinblesham, 28

Hognastou, 243

Holme Hall, 156

Holmes, 216

Holmesfield, 206, 215-218,
362, 415

Honeycroft, 323

Hope, 36, 339

Hopton, 209, 315, 316

Horsley, 216

Hough, 26, 158, 279

Houghton, 268

I.

Ilford, 209
nkeston, 425
Indies, West, 172
Ingleby, 65
Inkersall, 352

K.

Kedleston, 113, 377, 449
Kettleby, 45(3
Killamarsh, 51, 55, 56, 227,

201-264, 361
Kilpeck, 400
Kingston, 32, 42, 43
Kiuoltou, 43
Kirk Ireton, 395
Kniveton, 275, 449
Kuowles, 216

L.

Langwith, 267-270, 415, 473

Lea, 33, 43, 47, 48, 463

Leak, 367

Leachurch, 41

Leeds, -294

Lees (Norton), 294, 297

Leicester, 361

Leke, 43

Lenton, Priory of, 99, 418

Lichfleld, 161, 373, 384,

385

Linacre, 167, 228
Liubery, 445, 446
Lincoln, 109
Lings, 180
Loades, 116
London Bridge, 133
Loughborough, 214, 387
Lowne, 253, 254
Lyndeby, 143

M

Macclesfield, 371
Mackworth, 444
Malta, 43, 182
Markeaton, 335
Marnham, 74
Marston-on-Dove, 311
Marston Moor, 178
Matlock, 162
Melbourne, 222, 400
Mercaston, 449
Milnhouse, 268
Moorhall, 118, 185, 186
Monyash, 324, 332
Morleston, 83
Morley, 45, 291
Morton, 273-280, 291, 303,

415, 416, 417
Mossborough, 83, 226
Mountgrace, Priory of, 83
Muggiutou, 275
Musselborough, 347, 356,

359
Mynyw, 311

N.

Newbold, 59, 121, 162, 176,
178-181, 184, *21, 405

Newcastle, 373

Newhall, 41

Newstead, Priory of, 241,
248, 324, 473

Newton Solney, 55, 283
Norbury, 276, 157, 153, 159,

419
Normanton, South, 93,

283-287, 303, 337, 387,

439
Normanton, Temple, 182-

187, 376, 469
Norton, 3, 12, 31, 73, 74,

79, '208, 218, 222, 291-300,

473

Northampton, 324
Northwells, 339
Nottingham, 214, 269, 276,

285, 340

O.

Oakerthorpe, 437, 438

Ogstou, 273, 277, '278, "291,

. 337,339,415

Okeover, 29

Osmaston, 286

Osney, 461

Otley, 341

Owlcote (Oldcote), 372

P.

Padley, 156

Palterton, 268, 321, 327, 174

Park Hall, 69, 416, 43-2, 477

Park Hall, Deuby, 357

Parwic-h. 243

Peak Castle, 159

Peutrich, 437, 466

Petit Quevilly, 400

Peynstonhirst, 463

Pilsley, 415, 416

Piuxton. 93, 283, 303-307

Pisa, 130

Pleasley, 156, 268, 269, 279,

305, 311-318, 385
Plurnley, 230
Pocknage, 116
Pontefract, 312

R.

Radbourne, 158
Radcliffe, 333
Radcliffe-on-Soar, 26, 32
Repinghall, 32
Repton, 69, 428
Rhodes, 43
Biddings, 14
Ripley, 437
Ripou, 312
Risley, 277. 279
Rolleston Holt, 140
Rotherham, 36. 84
Rotherfield, 335, 416
Rothley. 4M
Rowsley, 2<>i»
Rowthorn, 29, "241, 242, '253,

256, 268, 473
Rowton, 158
Rouen, 400

INDEX OF PLACES.

495

s.

Sandiacre, 202, 253, 267,

271, 375
Scarcliffe, 268, 321-327, 332,

340, 384, 466, 474
Senor, 249, 431
Sherwood, 173
Sheyle, 283
Shipbrook, 247
Shirebrook, 315-318
Sliirlan(l, 14, 2M3, 271, 275,

280,326, 331-341,474,475
Snodeswic, 303
Somercotes, 143
Somersall, 115
Soutbill, 396
Spiukliill, -2<;-2
St. Neots, 360, 361
St. Tbomas' Hospital, 385
Stiiinsby, 241, 246, 247,256,

370, 420
Staveley, 26, 55, 63, 88, 122,

180, 208, 216, 217, 227,

230, 324, 339, 345364,

370, 391,392, 4'29, 475
Staveley Hall, 349, 356,

364
Staveley Woodthorpe, 62,

353, 392
Steetley, 393, 399—402, 475,

471)

Stockesley, 47
Stoke, 215

Stoney Houghton, 315, 415
Stretton, 291,333, 415
Stubley, 210
Stuffyn, 318
Sudbury, 93
Button Coldfield, 374
Sutton-in-the-Dale, 115,

160, 183, 241, 247, 273,

317—380, 385, 421
Swanwick, 12, 459
Swarkestone, 29, 59

T.

Taddington, 95
Tamworth, 28
Tapton, 121, 178, 139
Tatteshall, 439, 443
Temple Normanton, 182 —

187

Temph- Rothlcy, 29
Teversall, 29, 33
Thathwayt, 338. 474
Theddlethorpe, 83
Thorpe, 33'2
Thriberg, 34
Throwley, '29
Thurgarton, Prioi-y of, 93,

161, 235-237, '268, 415,

416,423,431,465,470,473
Thurleston, 430
Tibshelf, 2-27, 253, 383—

387

Tissington, 243, 322
Totley. 79, 218
Trowell, 316, 318
Trussebut, 93
Tuxford. 4-J I

U.

Unston, 201, 202, 208
Upton, 27, 158, 339

W.

Wadshelf, 116, 178, 415
Wakebridge, 51
Wakefleld, 67
Walesho, 83
Walkiiigton, 246
Wallsteeds, 216
Walton, 28, 114, 140, 141,

146, 156, 167, 188, 189,

352, 368, 369
Ware, 209
Warsop Wood, 311

Wanvk-k Castle, 137
Wilmington, 415
istrary, 2!)
Welberk, 7 1, 128, 378-380,

o'.l-2, 393, 394, 400, 416—

418

-Weldon, 31
Weoby.
Whitehall, 393

Ladies, 385

Whittingtou, 41, 63, 121,
, i:,\. 1.-.7, 177, 178,

253, 263, 363, 405—411,

4i] 1
Wliitwell, 51, 53, 60, 83,

Idl, 225, 391—397

v, 116,178
Wifiiamleld, 463
Williamthorpe, 415, 416
\Vimes\voM. :l, 7H, 291

or, 171
Winfield, North, 113, 137,

157, 178, 180, 185, 195,

243, 249, 256, 273, 274,

275, 322, 337, 338, 353,

370, 373, 376, 415- -434,

454, 468, 477
Winfield, South, 21, 47,

227, 437—444, 477
Wingerworth, 109, 111, 201,

264, 449-456
Wirksworth, 156, 316, 318,

349

Wiverton, 29, 31
Wolley, 278

Woodseats, 12, 65, 69, 216
Worksop, 57, 58, 78, 399
Wynefield, 321

Y.

Teaveley, 183
Yelvertoft, 29
Youlgreave, 292

PRINTED BY BEXIKOSE AND SONS, LONDON AND DERBY.

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY

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